Worker influx lifts Hong Kong population as birth slump worsens
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Births in Hong Kong plunged 15.6 per cent to 29,700, the lowest since records began in the 1960s.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Hong Kong's population rose 0.3 per cent to over 7.5 million in 2026 due to an influx of imported workers, despite a natural decrease caused by more deaths than births.
- Births fell 15.6 per cent to 29,700, the lowest since the 1960s, showing that government cash incentives have not reversed the birth rate slump.
- The ageing population problem worsens, with projections of nearly one-third of residents aged 65 or older by 2039, increasing pressure on the workforce and social services.
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Hong Kong is increasingly reliant on imported workers as births fell below 30,000 for the first time, underscoring the limits of government incentives to arrest a demographic slump that threatens the city’s future workforce.
The number of residents rose 0.3 per cent from 2025 to over 7.5 million in mid-2026 on an influx of newcomers, according to provisional estimates released on Aug 18 by the Census and Statistics Department. Births plunged 15.6 per cent to 29,700, the lowest since records began in the 1960s.
In a statement, a government spokesperson attributed the population bump to measures for attracting talent and labour, which offset the natural decrease caused by deaths exceeding births.
But the slump in the number of newborns deals a further blow to Hong Kong’s efforts to tackle low birth rates – a common challenge faced by governments across East Asia.
The city introduced a HK$20,000 (S$3,250) cash handout for each baby born to a permanent resident between October 2023 and October 2026. The authorities had earlier estimated that the programme, which has seen a total of about HK$1.44 billion already awarded as at May, could help boost annual births to 39,000.
The decline will also aggravate demographic pressures in a city with one of the world’s most rapidly ageing populations, as more people leave the workforce. The government projects almost one in three residents will be 65 and over by 2039, up from 20 per cent in 2021. BLOOMBERG