Chapter 2: Population
THE total civilian population at the end of 1957 was estimated to be 2,677,000 of whom less than 1% was non-Chinese. About 12% of the population lived in the New Territories; about 5% was made up of boat dwellers; and of the remaining 83% living in the 36 square miles of the urban area (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon) some 9% were in Resettlement Estates, while some 13% fell into such cate- gories as squatters and roof-top dwellers. Until a census is held, these estimates must be regarded as tentative and approximate. A Housing Survey was conducted by the University of Hong Kong during the latter part of 1957, and the Report of this Survey which will appear in 1958 should throw further light upon the estimates.
The last population census was held in 1931 when the civilian population was found to be 840,473 of whom 50% lived on Hong Kong Island, 30.4% in Kowloon and New Kowloon, 11.6% in the New Territories and 8% lived afloat. Another census should have been held in 1941, but the un- settled conditions following the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, the fluctuations in population following the attack on Canton in 1938, and later the Japanese invasion of the Colony, caused the plan to be abandoned. The influx of immigrants to which the Colony has been subjected since the end of the war has been one of the main considerations which have so far made the holding of a census impracticable.
An unofficial count by air-raid wardens in 1941 before the Japanese attack put the population at about 1,600,000. This number was greatly reduced during the occupation and it is estimated that the total amounted to less than 600,000 when the Colony was liberated in August 1945.
The population grew rapidly after the liberation, and by