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Population
THE total estimated population of the Colony at the end of 1967 was 3,877,700. About 98 per cent could be described as Chinese on the basis of language and place of origin.
The population, which was about 600,000 at the end of the Japanese occupation, has grown rapidly and the 1966 mid-term census showed the total to be 3,716,400, including 3,787 transients. During 1967 the population increased by 92,400 to reach the estimated total of 3,877,700. This increase is made up of 74,100 excess of births over deaths, plus an inward balance of migration estimated at 18,300.
Urban Population. At the time of the 1966 census, 31,405 people, excluding transients, claimed to originate from Commonwealth countries outside Hong Kong. Of these, 26,065 lived in the urban area. According to information provided by the Aliens' Registration Office for non-Chinese alien residents (excluding visitors staying for periods of less than three months and children under 16 years old) the figure at the end of 1967 was 11,389. The largest groups were: American 4,157, Portuguese 1,800, Japanese 1,462, Dutch 531, German 334, French 308, Italian 227.
Approximately 54 per cent of the urban population is now of Hong Kong birth. Most of these, and the greater part of the im- migrant population, originate from Kwangtung province. The urban Chinese population also includes a Fukien community and overseas Chinese whose families originally came from Kwangtung and Fukien.
New Territories. The indigenous population of the New Terri- tories are Cantonese, Hakka, Tanka and Hoklo. The Cantonese and Hakka groups are traditionally land-dwellers, whereas the Tanka and Hoklo groups are traditionally boat-dwellers. These people are different from each other in physical appearance, dress and customs. The usual village community consists of a single clan, but two and three clan villages are common and multi-clan villages also occur.