XN000022-1991-03-15 — Page 13

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FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1991

12

CENSUS REVEALS VITAL DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS

* * * *

THE 1991 CENSUS WILL PROVIDE A WEALTH OF DATA POINTING THE

MR BENJAMIN AHEAD, THE COMMISSIONER FOR CENSUS AND STATISTICS, SAID TODAY (FRIDAY).

WAY

MOK,

KONG ADDRESSING A LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF HONG

THE BIGGEST EVER NORTH EAST, MR MOK SAID THE 1991 CENSUS, WHICH WAS

STUDYING THE CONDUCTED, WAS UNDERTAKEN TO PROVIDE BENCHMARK DATA FOR DIRECTION AND TREND OF POPULATION CHANGES.

'INDEED, THERE HAS BEEN POPULATION OVER THE PAST DECADE PROFILE, HE SAID.

МОК MR

POINTED

OUT

SIGNIFICANT

CHANGES IN

-

IN LESS

THAT IN

DEPARTMENT CONDUCTED A BY-CENSUS AND A

HONG KONG'S

ITS SIZE THAN IN ITS

BETWEEN

TWO CENSUSES,

THE

SERIES OF GENERAL HOUSEHOLD

SURVEY'S TO KEEP TRACK OF POPULATION CHANGES.

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT OF BIRTHS, DEATHS AND POPULATION MOVEMENTS, HONG KONG AT IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THERE WERE 5.86 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE END OF 1990, COMPARED TO A FIGURE OF 5.15 MILLION PEOPLE 10 AGO.

YEARS

CENT.

THE AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OVER

THE DECADE WAS 1.3 PER

BENCHMARK

FOR FUTURE

"THE 1991 CENSUS WILL ENABLE US TO CHECK THE ACCURACY

A NEW ESTABLISH ESTIMATE AND TO ESTIMATES, MR MOK SAID.

AGING THE

OF THIS POPULATION

PHENOMENON OF THE REGARDING THE AGE-SEX PROFILE, POPULATION, AS REVEALED IN PAST CENSUSES, IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE.

THE PROPORTION OF THE ELDERLY POPULATION, THAT IS THOSE AGE AND OVER, INCREASED FROM 4.5 PER CENT IN 1971 TO 6.6 PER CENT IN AND THE FIGURE IS EXPECTED TO RISE TO ABOUT 9 PER CENT IN 1991.

THE

65

1981

AGED

IS ALSO REFLECTED BY THE AGING OF THE POPULATION

PER 1,000 PERSONS DEPENDENCY RATIO WHICH INCREASED STEADILY FROM 76

RISE TOWARDS 130 IN 1971 TO 95 IN 1981, AND WOULD LIKELY TO FURTHER IN 1991.

IS EXPECTED TO AND 54

THE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE FOR MALES REMAIN RELATIVELY STABLE BUT THAT FOR FEMALES AGED BETWEEN 20 WOULD LIKELY CONTINUE TO INCREASE.

THE AGE PROFILE

OF

THE LABOUR

FORCE,

HOWEVER, WILL

YEARS LONGER

SHIFT STRUCTURE TOWARDS OLDER AGES AS A RESULT OF THE CHANGE IN THE AGE-SEX

LABOUR PARTICIPATION ASSOCIATED WITH AND A DECLINE IN THE LEVEL OF

OPPORTUNITIES EDUCATIONAL

IMPROVEMENT

SCHOOLING.

IN

AND

OF

/THE 1991