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POPULATION
34,993 marriages were performed in the registries and 2,641 at licensed places of wor- ship, a total of 37,634-7,198 more than in 1973. All records are maintained at the principal marriage registry at the City Hall.
The Marriage Reform Ordinance provides that all marriages entered into in Hong Kong on and after October 7, 1971, shall imply the voluntary union for 'life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others and may be contracted only in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance. It declares valid certain customary mar- riages and validates certain other customary marriages known as modern marriages, provided in each case they have been entered into before October 7, 1971. The Or- dinance also makes provision for post-registration of these customary and modern marriages and for dissolution of such marriages by mutual consent. During the year, 25 customary and four modern marriages were post-registered, including 10 in the New Territories.
On June 1, 1974, the fees payable in respect of marriage registration matters were extensively revised. The two principal fees for the filing and exhibition of notice of marriage and for a marriage at the office of the Registrar, were increased from $2 to $10 and $10 to $50 respectively.
Births and Deaths
The registration of births and deaths is compulsory, and facilities for registration are provided throughout Hong Kong. The General Register Office in Central keeps all records of births and deaths, and sub-registries have been established in all main urban and rural districts. In outlying areas and islands, births are registered at rural committee offices by visiting district registrars and deaths are registered at local police stations.
The statutory period from date of birth during which a birth should be registered, and is registered without fee, is 42 days. Between the end of the 42-day period and the expiration of one year from the date of birth a fee of $2 is charged for registra- tion. During the year 81,879 live births and 22,050 deaths were registered, compared with 80,147 and 21,360 respectively in 1973. These figures, when adjusted for under- registration, give a natural increase in population for 1974 of about 61,552. Illegiti- mate births registered during the year totalled 5,795 compared with 4,111 in 1973.
A birth which has not been registered within one year may be post-registered with the consent of the Registrar and on payment of a $15 fee. During the year 1,415 births were post-registered, including 378 in the New Territories. The principal reason given for non-registration at the time of birth was simple negligence, but there continues to be a number of applications for post-registration in respect of adults because facilities for registration were not available until 1932. Also some cases relate to births during the war years when there was no registration. However, in most cases last year ap- plications for post-registration were in respect of minors. New Territories cases are dealt with at local sub-registries or by mobile registration teams. All applications for post-registration are passed to a legal officer in the Registrar General's Department for final approval.