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Connor Mycroft

Hong Kong recorded fewer than 30,000 births annually for the first time on record – a 15.6 per cent year-on-year decline – even as its population rose by 0.3 per cent to more than 7.5 million by mid-2026, according to the latest official figures.
Provisional data from the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that the city recorded 29,700 births between mid-2025 and mid-2026, down 15.6 per cent from the 35,200 recorded during the same period a year earlier.
It was the first time since official records began in 1962 that the city recorded fewer than 30,000 births in its midyear population update. The previous midyear low was 32,600 births in 2023.
Tuesday’s statistics also showed that the city recorded 50,100 deaths during the period, resulting in a natural population decline of 20,400.
Despite the drop in births, the city’s midyear population edged up 0.3 per cent to 7,518,300, or 19,400 more compared with the same period last year.
Hong Kong’s population fell to 7,498,900 by mid-2025, marking the first time the city’s midyear population had dropped below 7.5 million since 2023.




The government on Tuesday attributed the slight population increase to “various measures for talent attraction and labour importation” that continued to bring people from around the world to Hong Kong, offsetting the impact of natural population decline.
But the statement did not address the steep drop in births.
The decline in births came despite the government’s introduction of a “baby bonus” scheme in 2023, offering a one-off HK$20,000 (US$2,560) cash award to new parents to encourage families to have children.
The scheme was planned for an initial three years.
Earlier this year, the department reported that births in 2025 had fallen to a record low of 31,100, despite the government’s efforts to encourage residents to have more children.
Authorities earlier estimated that the annual number of births in the scheme’s second and third financial years – 2024-25 and 2025-26 – could reach 39,000, representing a 20 per cent increase from 2022.
While declining births are an issue affecting most developing countries, Hong Kong has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. The city logged just 0.73 births per woman in 2025, well below the 2.1 replacement rate benchmark.
Data from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs showed Hong Kong had the second lowest fertility rate among 236 jurisdictions, behind only Macau.

New People’s Party lawmaker Judy Chan Kapui urged authorities to be more “precise” in distributing cash incentives for newborns.
“My theory is that for couples who have no children, it’s very difficult to change their mind,” she said. “If we can focus on convincing couples who already have one child to have a second, I think it is far easier.”
Among the recommendations submitted by the party last month for the coming policy address and the city’s first five-year plan was a proposal to raise the cash incentive by 50 per cent – to HK$30,000 – for parents having a second child.
In a further effort to encourage Hongkongers to have children, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced in his 2025 policy address that from the 2026-27 financial year, parents of newborns would also enjoy an annual tax break of HK$130,000 for two years after the child’s birth, up from one year.
The measure would apply to all children under the age of two at the end of the year of assessment.
Chan also called on the government to consider allowing single, unmarried women in Hong Kong to legally access in vitro fertilisation, better known as IVF, procedures. Such treatments are currently only legally available to married couples.
She noted that many single women were well educated, held stable jobs and had family support. “They are well qualified to raise a child on their own, so why not give them the right to choose?” she said.


Paul Yip Siu-fai, the chair professor of population health at the University of Hong Kong’s social work and social administration department, said the latest statistics showed that the city’s low fertility rate was “here to stay”.
He described current government support as “not enough to move the needle”, pointing to the growing number of married couples choosing to remain childless and women who do not wish to give birth.
A survey released earlier this year by the Hong Kong Women Development Association reportedly found that only 23 per cent of respondents expressed a desire to have children.
A separate 2023 survey by the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong found the proportion of childless couples had more than doubled to 43.2 per cent of respondents that year from 20.6 per cent in 2017.
Yip agreed that the government should instead shift its focus to parents who already have at least one child, given they have already showed a willingness to have more children.
Nonetheless, he urged authorities to maintain the HK$20,000 subsidy as a symbolic gesture of support for couples who choose to have children.
“We are not going to move the needle but … at least for the people who decided to have the children, they can feel the support from the government,” he said.
The Census and Statistics Department’s midyear data also showed that during the same period, the city recorded a net inflow of 39,800 residents, including 23,900 one-way permit holders and 15,900 other residents.
One-way permits allow mainland Chinese residents to settle in Hong Kong to reunite with their families. Those granted permits, which are issued at a rate of 150 per day, must surrender their mainland household registration.


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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong births fall below 30,000 for first time, even as population edges up

People on their way to work during rush hour in Central. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Midyear census data also showed that during the same period, Hong Kong recorded a net inflow of 39,800 residents. Photo: Sun Yeung

Boys play at Sai Ying Pun Harbourfront Park. Hong Kong recorded a record low of 31,100 births in 2025 despite government incentives to boost the birth rate. Photo: Karma Lo

To boost birth rate, Hong Kong needs to deliver quality housing

A man pushes a baby in a pram in Yau Ma Tei on July 17, 2025. Photo: Jelly Tse

A mother eats in a subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po, on October 15, 2024. Photo: May Tse

Should Hong Kong’s baby bonus scheme include talent to boost birth rate?

The one-off cash allowance of HK$20,000 has been distributed to 48,984 applicants as of the end of June. Photo: Nora Tam

Extending the bonus scheme may encourage more couples to have children, an economist says. Photo: Edmond So

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Hong Kong

Society

Midyear population provisionally stood at 7,518,300, an increase of 19,400, but births fell by 15.6 per cent to 29,700


Midyear population provisionally stood at 7,518,300, an increase of 19,400, but births fell by 15.6 per cent to 29,700.


Hong Kong births fall below 30,000 for first time, even as population edges up

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Midyear population provisionally stood at 7,518,300, an increase of 19,400, but births fell by 15.6 per cent to 29,700

Midyear population provisionally stood at 7,518,300, an increase of 19,400, but births fell by 15.6 per cent to 29,700