Chapter 2: Population
THE population at the end of 1956 was estimated to be about 2,535,000, excluding Service personnel and their families, but until a census can be held, any estimate of the population in Hong Kong must of necessity be regarded as tentative.
The last census was taken in 1931, when the population was found to be 849,751, including 9,434 Service personnel. Another census should have been held in 1941, but with the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, conditions became un- settled, and the plan was abandoned. The Colony has since been subject to a succession of increases in population, which has made the holding of a census impracticable.
An unofficial census made by air raid wardens in 1941, before the attack on Hong Kong by the Japanese, showed the population to be about 1,600,000. This number was greatly reduced during the Japanese occupation, and it is estimated that the total amounted to less than 600,000 when 'the Colony was liberated in August 1945.
After the cessation of hostilities in 1945 the population of the Colony increased rapidly, and by the end of 1946, it is believed to have reached its immediately pre-war level of 1,600,000. A population survey was made in 1947 by the then Statistical Department, and the total at the close of that year was assessed at approximately 1,800,000. Estimates for sub- sequent years are based on birth and death registration figures and arrival and departure statistics.
The population of the Colony continued to increase during 1956, reaching an estimated total of 2,535,000 by the end of the year, an increase of 135,000. Of the total increase about 77,500 or 57% was due to the excess of registered births over deaths. The relaxation of immigration controls on the border
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