Hong Kong's population in mid-2024 up 0.1 pct from 2023

HONG KONG, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's population in mid-2024 stood at 7,531,800, up 0.1 percent compared with the end of 2023 and down 0.1 percent compared with mid-2023, according to government estimates released on Thursday.

Provisional figures by the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government indicated that in mid-2024 there were 7,287,400 usual residents in Hong Kong and 244,400 mobile residents.

The population at the end of 2023 was revised to 7,527,900, with the figure for usual residents revised to 7,246,400 and that for mobile residents to 281,500.

A government spokesperson said the population saw a small increase in the first half of 2024 due to the introduction of various government policies to draw talent and import labor, with a sizeable inflow of persons from the Chinese mainland and other places around the world.

In early 2023, with the full resumption of normal travel, many Hong Kong residents living abroad began returning to the city for short durations of stay, resulting in a notable increase in the population in mid-2023 compared to a year earlier, the spokesperson added.