MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1991
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POPULATION INCREASES BY 11 PER CENT IN 10 YEARS
THE POPULATION OF HONG KONG HAS INCREASED BY 11 PER CENT OR 564,000 IN NUMBER OVER THE LAST DECADE TO 5,674,000, ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF THE 1991 POPULATION CENSUS.
THE RESULTS ALSO SHOWED THAT
SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS HAD BEEN ACHIEVED IN EDUCATION, HOUSING AND THE INCOME OF THE POPULATION.
IN ADDITION, THERE WERR SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES IN THE GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION AND THE INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE WORKING POPULATION.
ANNOUNCING THE CENSUS RESULTS AT A PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY (MONDAY), THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS, MR BENJAMIN MOK, SAID THE POPULATION GROWTH WAS SLOWER IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE DECADE THAN IN THE FIRST HALF.
HE SAID THE ANNUAL GROWTH RATE AVERAGED 1.5 PER CENT OVER THE PERIOD 1981-1986, BUT ONLY 0.6 PER CENT OVER THE PERIOD 1986-1991.
MR MOK SAID THE 1991 POPULATION CENSUS SHOWED A TOTAL OF. 5,674,000 LOCAL RESIDENTS, 36,000 TRANSIENTS AND 52,000 VIETNAMESE MIGRANTS IN THE TERRITORY ON THE CENSUS REFERENCE DATE, MARCH 15 THIS YEAR.
THE 5.7 MILLION LOCAL RESIDENTS INCLUDED 5,522,000 RESIDENTS PRESENT IN HONG KONG AND 152,000 RESIDENTS TEMPORARILY AWAY FROM HONG KONG ON THAT DATE.
THE COMMISSIONER POINTED OUT THAT THERE WAS A SUBSTANTIAL REDISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION DURING THE LAST 10 YEARS.
THE RESIDENT POPULATION IN THE NEW TERRITORIES MARKEDLY FROM 1.3 MILLION IN 1981 TO 2.4 MILLION THIS YEAR.
IN KOWLOON AND NEW KOWLOON, THE POPULATION DROPPED MILLION TO 2 MILLION IN THE PERIOD.
INCREASED
FROM 2.5
THE POPULATION ON HONG KONG ISLAND STABILISED AT ABOUT 1.2
MILLION.
"THE NEW TOWNS RECORDED THE LARGEST POPULATION GROWTH: SHA TIN QUADRUPLED ITS POPULATION SIZE WHILE BOTH TUEN MUN AND SAI KUNG TRIPLED THEIRS," MR MOK SAID.
ON THE OTHER HAND, THE COMMISSIONER SAID THE OLD URBAN AREAS SUCH AS YAU TSIM, MONG KOK, WAN CHAI AND WONG TAI SIN EXPERIENCED A SUBSTANTIAL POPULATION DECREASE, RESULTING IN A DECLINE IN POPULATION DENSITY.
MEANWHILE, THE POPULATION BECAME OLDER DURING THE YEARS WITH THE MEDIAN AGE RISING FROM 26 YEARS IN 1981 TO THIS YEAR.
LAST 10 32 YEARS
MARKED SAID.
"THIS IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO A CONTINUAL FERTILITY DECLINE
MORTALITY IMPROVEMENT EXPERIENCED BY THE POPULATION,
AND A
11 MR MOK
/COMPARING THE