Hong Kong sees population increase in 2023

HONG KONG, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) saw an increase in population in 2023 thanks to a net inflow of residents, official data showed Tuesday.

The provisional estimate of the Hong Kong population was over 7.5 million at the end of 2023, an increase of 0.4 percent as compared with that at the end of 2022, the Census and Statistics Department of the HKSAR government said.

The population increase was mainly attributable to a net inflow of 51,700 Hong Kong residents recorded during the period, with an inflow of 40,800 one-way permit holders and a net inflow of 10,800 other Hong Kong residents, the department said.

Over the same period, a natural decrease of 21,200 was recorded, with 33,200 births and 54,400 deaths.

A government spokesperson said the population registered an increase for the second consecutive year since normalcy resumed in Hong Kong.

"Many Hong Kong residents who stayed abroad during the epidemic have returned to Hong Kong throughout 2023. In the second half of 2023, there was still considerable inflow of Hong Kong permanent residents," the spokesperson said, adding that the increase is also attributable to the successive admission of mainland and overseas persons through various schemes into Hong Kong.