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Monday, March 19, 1973
OVERCROWDING MOST SERIOUS IN PUBLIC HOUSING
The problem of overcrowded living conditions in Hong Kong is
most serious in public housing.
The problem is less intense in private tenements and least of
all in private flats.
This is stated in a special review article in the January
issue of the Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics just published by
the Census and Statistics Department.
The article reports on the overcrowding and sharing of housing
accommodation in Hong Kong based on the 1971 Census Main Report.
The 1971 Census showed that there were a total of 654,810
occupied living quarters of all kinds. Of this total, private housing
accounted for about 50 per cent, with public housing and temporary
housing amounting to 40 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
The article reveals that sharing of accommodation is most common
in private tenements, and very seldom in public housing.
Sharing of accommodation is measured by the number of households
in each living quarter.
The review contains two charts and five tables which rank urban
districts with respect to overcrowding and sharing. They show the
distribution of these two characteristics by type of housing.
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