Hong Kong’s population is expected to reach 8.469 million by 2041, with 52100 births and 82,400 deaths predicted by The Census and Statistics Department. It expects over 30% of the population to be above 65 by 2041.
It also possesses one of the lowest fertility rates in the world at 1.11 children per woman, with 1,032 babies born to every 1,000 fertile women in 2009. As of the year 2017, this rate is now estimated to be 1.19 children born per woman. The mean age of women birthing their first child in Hong Kong is approximately 29.8 years of age. Total life expectancy in Hong Kong is now at 83 years of age, with a median age of 44.4 years across the population.
Over the past three decades, the fertility rate has greatly decreased. In fact, in 2001, it was 927 children per 1,000 women, which was a great drop from the replacement level of 2,100 children per 1000 women. This decline has been attributed to women pursuing higher studies, late marriages, higher proportion of people who never marry and an increasing participation by women in the labor force.
The government has been taking steps toward encouraging people to have bigger families. To this effect, there have been calls for increasing the government’s system of providing free education to children up to the age of 9, to the age of 15, in order to reduce the financial burden on the parents. In addition, calls for subsidizing medical and nursery services are being made to encourage more parents to have children in order to boost the population.
Hong Kong currently has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. It is estimated that by 2033, 26.8% of the population will be above 65 years, which is an increase of 12.1% from 2005. With greater emphasis laid on earning more money and pursuing higher education, along with the increasing cost of child care and housing, more and more people are opting to not have a child, which has resulted in the rate of population growth steadily decreasing over the years.
Due to the low birthrate, the population increase will not be significant over the years. Therefore, to boost the population, the government is taking various steps, one of which is to convince people from the Mainland to migrate to Hong Kong. For these immigrants to be productive and contribute to society, the government is starting programs based on helping them settle and adjust to life in Hong Kong. Current projections believe that the annual growth rate will creep very close to 0% annual change by the year 2050 and that the population will increase to 8,253,141 during this same time period.
| Hong Kong Population (as of 11/19/2024) | 7,400,786 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2024) | 7,414,910 |
| Births per Day | 110 |
| Deaths per Day | 157 |
| Migrations per Day | -53 |
| Net Change per Day | -99 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | -32,076 |
Net decrease of 1 person every 14.55 minutes
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 13.08 minutes | |
| One death every 9.17 minutes | |
| One emigrant every 27.17 minutes | |
| Net loss of one person every 14.55 minutes |
City | 2024 Pop. |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 7,012,738 |
| Kowloon | 2,019,533 |
| Tsuen Wan | 288,728 |
| Yuen Long Kau Hui | 141,900 |
| Tung Chung | 45,000 |
| Sha Tin | 21,559 |
| Tuen Mun | 16,940 |
| Tai Po | 16,302 |
| Sai Kung | 11,927 |
| Yung Shue Wan | 6,000 |
At the end of 2017, Hong Kong had 7.392 million living there, ranking it 104th in the world for population. For a country with this many people living there, Hong Kong is a surprisingly small country, only cover 427 square miles (1,110 square kilometers) of area, which ranks 183rd in terms of area. Hong Kong is an autonomous territory located in Southeast China, 37 miles east of Macau, made up of a mainland and many smaller islands in the South China Sea with a highly developed transportation network and densely populated buildings. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and has a population density of 17,311 people per square mile (6,659 people per square kilometer), which ranks between 2nd and 3rd in the world for population density (it doesn't get its rank because of its status as a Chinese territory).
Because Hong Kong is a territory of China, the largest cities within Hong Kong are technically the same as the largest cities in China. That said, a few of China's cities make the list of the top 30 most densely populated cities in the world, although most on the list are in India, the Philippines, France, and other countries. Hong Kong is the 8th most densely populated city in the world, with 68,400 people per square mile. Macau follows behind as the 9th most densely populated, with a density of 65,400 people per square mile. Macau tops the list of sovereign states and dependent territories in terms of population density. Despite this tightly packed area, it still has the second-highest life expectancy in the world and remains one of the few areas in Asia to receive a "very high Human Development Index" ranking.
Year | Population | Change | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7,414,910 | -0.19% | 7,062 | 105 | 4 |
| 2023 | 7,442,730 | -0.08% | 7,088 | 104 | 4 |
| 2020 | 7,490,240 | 0.06% | 7,134 | 103 | 4 |
| 2019 | 7,485,810 | 0.2% | 7,129 | 103 | 4 |
| 2018 | 7,471,190 | 0.35% | 7,115 | 103 | 4 |
| 2017 | 7,444,890 | 0.5% | 7,090 | 102 | 4 |
| 2015 | 7,366,410 | 0.73% | 7,016 | 102 | 4 |
| 2010 | 7,101,620 | 0.55% | 6,763 | 102 | 4 |
| 2005 | 6,908,490 | 0.6% | 6,580 | 99 | 3 |
| 2000 | 6,704,660 | 1.65% | 6,385 | 95 | 3 |
| 1995 | 6,177,100 | 2.13% | 5,883 | 94 | 3 |
| 1990 | 5,560,600 | 0.61% | 5,296 | 95 | 3 |
| 1985 | 5,393,120 | 1.68% | 5,136 | 93 | 3 |
| 1980 | 4,962,480 | 2.26% | 4,726 | 96 | 3 |
| 1975 | 4,438,380 | 3.48% | 4,227 | 97 | 3 |
| 1970 | 3,739,920 | -0.61% | 3,562 | 98 | 3 |
| 1965 | 3,855,420 | 4.49% | 3,672 | 92 | 3 |
| 1960 | 3,094,840 | 4.54% | 2,947 | 97 | 3 |
| 1955 | 2,478,200 | 4.61% | 2,360 | 105 | 3 |
Year | Population | Change | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7,414,910 | -0.19% | 7,062 | 105 | 4 |
| 2025 | 7,396,080 | -0.25% | 7,044 | 106 | 4 |
| 2030 | 7,252,650 | -0.39% | 6,907 | 110 | 4 |
| 2035 | 7,051,630 | -0.56% | 6,716 | 111 | 4 |
| 2040 | 6,816,570 | -0.68% | 6,492 | 115 | 4 |
| 2045 | 6,498,690 | -0.95% | 6,189 | 117 | 4 |
| 2050 | 6,090,620 | -1.29% | 5,801 | 119 | 4 |
| 2055 | 5,660,110 | -1.46% | 5,391 | 125 | 4 |
| 2060 | 5,199,360 | -1.68% | 4,952 | 125 | 5 |
| 2065 | 4,767,800 | -1.72% | 4,541 | 133 | 5 |
| 2070 | 4,325,090 | -1.93% | 4,119 | 134 | 5 |
| 2075 | 3,881,300 | -2.14% | 3,696 | 137 | 5 |
| 2080 | 3,448,210 | -2.34% | 3,284 | 138 | 6 |
| 2085 | 3,050,960 | -2.42% | 2,906 | 140 | 7 |
| 2090 | 2,675,400 | -2.59% | 2,548 | 141 | 7 |
| 2095 | 2,355,380 | -2.52% | 2,243 | 142 | 7 |
Hong Kong is one of the two Special Administrative regions of China, with Macau being the other one. It is located on the south coast of China with the Pearl River Delta and the South China Sea surrounding it. Hong Kong is famous for its skyline as well as its natural harbor.
93.6% of Hong Kong's population consists of ethnic Chinese. Most are Taishanese, Chiu Chow, other Cantonese people, and Hakka. Most Han people in Hong Kong are from the Taishan and Guangzhou regions. Of the non-ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong, many are South Asians -- including Indians, Nepalese, and Pakistanis -- as well as Vietnamese refugees. There are also many Canadians, Britons, Americans, Koreans, and Japanese working in the city.
Foreign domestic helpers make up 4% of Hong Kong’s population. The estimated 250,000 foreign domestic workers mostly come from the Philippines and Indonesia.
The languages used in Hong Kong include: Cantonese (official language) 88.9%, English (official language) 4.3%, Mandarin (official language) 1.9%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, and other languages at 1.9% use among the population.
Most people in Hong Kong have no religious affiliation, claiming to be atheist or agnostic. Just 43% of the population practices some religion, although it's estimated that up to 80% of Hong Kong residents have no religion. The main religions include Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Christians account for 11% of the population, most of whom are Protestant.
Hong Kong had the longest life expectancy in the world for women, which was recorded as 86.70 years in 2011. Meanwhile, the life expectancy for men was recorded at 80 years. There are several reasons for these statistics, such as residents of Hong Kong generally having an upbeat personality as well as the affordable and accessible health services provider there. In addition, financial stability is a major factor for long life expectancies there as this allows a person to remain calm instead of stressing out, which can take years off of a person’s life. Most residents of Hong Kong follow a healthy diet, combined with regular exercise which helps combat the effects of aging overall in addition to building a general foundation of good health.
When the British forces formally took over Hong Kong in 1841, the population was 7,541. A century later, the figure officially stood at 1,600,000. This figure fell to 500,000 in 1945, following the Battle of Hong Kong. However, ever since then, the population has steadily increased culminating in its current figure.
Large numbers of Chinese immigrated to Hong Kong in the 1850s due to the Taiping Rebellion. Several natural disasters such as floods, typhoons and famine led to many people moving to Hong Kong to escape the disasters. Despite 60,000 Chinese leaving Hong Kong in 1914 due to a fear of attack on their colony, the population increased to 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 to 1.6 million in 1941.
Hong Kong’s population in 1950 was 2.2 million. By 2001, it increased to 6.7 million, which means the population increased more than 3 times in size. However, the rate of the growth of population has been in decline over the years. This means that over the past fifty years, Hong Kong has transitioned from a high growth phase to a low growth phase.