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POPULATION
The 1981 Census showed that 57.2 per cent of the population was born in Hong Kong. About 98 per cent of the population can be described as Chinese on the basis of place of origin. Most of these people originated from Guangdong Province. Those from Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau and adjacent places form the largest community while the second largest group is Siyi, followed by the Chaozhou group. The remaining Chinese population have their origins in other parts of Guangdong and other provinces of China.
At the end of 1982, the estimated number of non-Hong Kong Commonwealth citizens residing either permanently or temporarily in Hong Kong was 67 800. These comprised: British 21 900 (excluding members of the Armed Forces); Indian 14 400; Malaysian 9 100; Australian 7 900; Singaporean 4 500; Canadian 5 000; and other Commonwealth countries 5 000. The estimate for non-Commonwealth permanent and temporary residents was 81 900. Of these, the largest groups were: Filipino 20 000; American 12 400; Pakistani 7 400; Japanese 7 100; Thai 9000; Portuguese 7 400; Indonesian 3 700; German 2 100; Korean 2 100; French 1 500 and Dutch 1 200.
Marriages
All marriages in Hong Kong are governed by the Marriage Ordinance and the Marriage Reform Ordinance. Under the Marriage Ordinance, at least 15 days' notice of an intended marriage must be given to the Registrar of Marriages. The Registrar has discretionary powers to reduce the period of notice in special circumstances or to grant a special licence dispensing with notice altogether. But this is done only in the most exceptional circumstances, Marriages may take place either at any of the 178 places of public worship licensed for the celebration of marriages, or at any of the 13 full-time marriage registries and four part-time sub-registries located in the main urban districts and rural centres. During the year, 51 388 marriages were performed in the registries and 2 605 at licensed places of worship. All records are maintained at the principal marriage registry at the City Hall.
Many couples wish to be married over the weekends (especially when the auspicious days of the lunar calendar fall on Saturday or Sunday). To meet this demand, the principal marriage registries operate on Saturdays and Sundays. All registries also make provision for group marriages. As a result of the additional facilities and extended working hours, the average waiting time for registration of a marriage at the popular registries has been reduced from three months to about one month.
The Marriage Reform Ordinance provides that all marriages entered into in Hong Kong on or 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 marriages and other marriages known as modern marriages provided, in each case, they were entered into before October 7, 1971. The ordinance also makes provision for the post-registration of these marriages, and for their dissolution. During the year, 54 customary and 20 modern marriages were post-registered.
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 District keeps all records of births and deaths, and there are 18 registries in the main urban and rural districts. In the outlying areas and islands, births are registered at various rural committee offices by visiting district registrars, and deaths are registered at local police stations. An additional registry was opened in 1982. At this registry joint services are