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POPULATION
The 1986 By-census showed that 59.3 per cent of the population was born in Hong Kong. Most of the population originated from Guangdong Province. Those from Canton, Hong Kong, Macau and adjacent places form the largest community while the second largest group is Siyi, followed by the Chaozhou group. The remaining members of the Chinese population have their origins in other parts of Guangdong and other provinces of China.
The estimated number of non-Hong Kong Commonwealth citizens residing in Hong Kong at the end of 1986 was 67 700. These comprised: British 16 000 (excluding members of the Armed Forces); Indian 15 300, Malaysian 10 100; Australian 8 400; Singaporean 5 400; Canadian 8 100; and other Commonwealth countries 4 400. The estimate for non- Commonwealth residents in Hong Kong was 100 700. Of these, the largest groups were: Filipino 36 800, American 14 000; Pakistani 7 100; Japanese 7 500; Thai 9 900; Portuguese 7 800; Indonesian 4 100; German 1 600; Korean 2 600; French 1 400 and Dutch 1 300.
Marriages
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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 198 places of public worship licensed for the celebration of marriages, or at any of the 13 full-time marriage registries and three part-time sub-registries located in the main urban districts and rural centres. During the year, 40 860 marriages were performed in the registries and 2 420 at licensed places of worship. All records are maintained permanently at the head office.
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 makes provision for the post-registration of these marriages, and for their dissolution. During the year, 98 customary and 27 modern marriages were post-registered.
Births and Deaths
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The registration of births and deaths is compulsory. The General Register Office keeps all records of births and deaths. Birth registration services in the urban districts are provided by two main birth registries, one on Hong Kong Island and one in Kowloon. There are also six birth registries in the rural areas providing similar services in their respective 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.
The statutory period during which a birth should be registered is 42 days from the date of birth. During the year, 72 211 live births and 26 030 deaths were registered, compared with 76 433 and 25 325 respectively in 1985. The figures, when adjusted for under-registration, gave a natural increase in population for 1986 of approximately 46 040.
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 $70 fee. During the year, 480 births were post-registered.