XN000022-1978-02-05 — Page 6

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1978

THE TRADE INDEX NUMBERS FOR NOVEMBER 1977 WERE AS FOLLOWS:

(1973 - 100)

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

IMPORTS

VALUE INDEX

UNIT VALUE

INDEX

188

179

132

135

QUANTUM INDEX

143

132

THE TERMS OF TRADE INDEX (1.E. EXPORT PRICES/IMPORT PRICES) FOR NOVEMBER WAS 98.

NOTE:

ALL VALUE FIGURES WERE ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION DOLLARS.

HONG KONG POPULATION STATISTICS ****

THE ESTIMATED POPULATION OF HONG KONG AT THE END OF DECEMBER 1977 WAS 4,566,900, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS SAID YESTERDAY.

COMPARED WITH THE 1976 YEAR-END ESTIMATE, THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE OF 89,296 PERSONS OVER THE 12-MONTH PERIOD, REPRESENTING AN ANNUAL POPULATION GROWTH RATE OF TWO PER CENT.

THIS WAS MADE UP OF A 'PLUS' OF 56,482 THROUGH THE BALANCE OF BIRTHS OVER DEATHS AND A 'PLUS' OF 32,814 THROUGH BALANCE OF MIGRATION.

THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BIRTHS FOR 1977 WAS 79,888, OR 1,402 MORE THAN THAT FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

THIS INCREASE IN BIRTHS WAS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE GRADUAL INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE CHILD-BEARING AGES 15-49.

HOWEVER, THE CONTINUING TENDENCY FOR THE GENERAL LEVEL OF FERTILITY TO DECLINE HAS MEANT THAT THE CRUDE BIRTH RATE, AT 17.7 PER THOUSAND POPULATION, REMAINED THE SAME AS IN 1976.

THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS FOR 1977 WAS 23,406, OR 714 MORE THAN IN 1976. THE CRUDE DEATH RATE WAS 5.2 PER 1,000 POPULATION AS COMPARED WITH 5.1 FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR. THESE INCREASES ARE ASSOCIATED DIRECTLY WITH THE INCREASING NUMBER OF OLD PEOPLE IN

THE POPULATION.

THE FIGURES ON BIRTHS AND DEATHS ARE BASED ON EVENTS OCCURRING RATHER THAN UPON REGISTRATIONS MADE AND THEREFORE DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THOSE RELEASED BY THE REGISTRAR GENERAL.

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