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Population
THE total estimated population of the Colony at the end of 1971 was 4,064,400. This estimate is based on the Population and Hous- ing Census taken in March of this year, adjusted by births, deaths and migration. The population on census day March 9, 1971, including 11,549 transients was 3,948,179 of which 2,010,204 were males and 1,937,975 females. Compared with the population in 1961, this represents an increase of 815,048 over the past 10 years.
The 1961 census showed the total population to be 3,133,131, including 3,483 transients, and the 1966 by-census put the total at 3,716,400, including 3,787 transients. The growth in the past few years has not been as fast as in the early 1960's and this can be attributed chiefly to the continued decline in the number of births since 1962. The crude birth rate dropped from 35 births per 1,000 of the population in 1962 to 19.7 in 1971.
The 1971 census figures showed that the population of Hong Kong Island fell from 1,004,875 in 1961 to 996,183. A decrease was also recorded for the Kowloon area from 725,177 in 1961 to 716,272. In New Kowloon, however, the population increased from 852,849 in 1961 to 1,478,581, with the biggest increases occurring in Kai Tak, Ngau Tau Kok and Lei Yue Mun districts. These three new districts, which include the industrial town of Kwun Tong, now contain one million people, compared with less. than a third of that number 10 years ago. The population in the New Territories increased from 409,945 in 1961 to 665,700, owing mainly to the development of Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung, which together showed an increase of 185,348 over the 10 years.
The sex ratio has become slightly more balanced since 1961, with 1,037 men to 1,000 women, compared with 1,058 to 1,000 women in 1961. This suggests that Hong Kong is taking on increasingly the characteristics of a settled community.
Density: Hong Kong with a total land area of only 400 square miles is one of the most densely populated areas in the world and its population is comparable to that of Norway or Niger (both