POPULATION
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records of births and deaths, and there are sub-registries in all main urban and rural districts. In the outlying areas and islands, births are registered at various rural com- mittee offices by visiting district registrars, and deaths are registered at local police stations.
The statutory period during which a birth should be registered is 42 days from the date of birth. There is no registration fee. However, for registration between the end of the 42-day period and the expiration of one year from the date of birth, a fee of $5 is charged. During the year, 78,807 live births and 23,459 deaths were registered, com- pared with 76,342 and 23,195 respectively in 1976. These figures, when adjusted for under-registration, gave a natural increase in population for 1977 of about 56,482. Illegitimate births registered during the year totalled 6,774, compared with 6,650 in 1976.
A birth which has not been registered within one year may be post-registered with the consent of the Registrar of Births and Deaths and on payment of a $30 fee. During the year, 1,643 births were post-registered, including 447 in the New Territories. The principal reason given for non-registration at the time of birth was simple negligence, but a number of applications for post-registration of adults continues to be lodged because registration facilities were not available until 1932. In addition, some cases relate to births which occurred during the war years, when there was no registration. But, in most cases during the year, applications for post-registration related to minors. New Territories cases are dealt with at local sub-registries or by mobile registration teams.
The General Register Office is responsible for the collection of vital statistics throughout Hong Kong. The information is recorded on various statistical forms and coding sheets for card punching and data processing by the government computer.