X1000306-1960-61_Part01 — Page 6

1. GENERAL REVIEW

On March 7th, 1961, the first census for thirty years was held in Hong Kong. It revealed a total population of 3,128,044, a figure which corresponds closely with the estimate of 2,981,000 for the mid-year population in 1960. Although a detailed breakdown of census returns is not available at the time of writing, preliminary results show the following distribution of the population:

Hong Kong Island

Kowloon and New Kowloon

New Territories

Boat population

1,004,917

1,574,915

409,905

138,307

The population is a young one, approximately forty per cent being below the age of fifteen years and only five per cent being over the age of sixty; it is increasing at a rate of at least three per cent per anoum, 2. The compression of this young and rapidly-expanding population into the 3981 square miles of land which comprises Hong Kong, continues to make heavy and increasing demands upon water supplies, housing, communications and social services. In the case of the medical and health services, these demands have been further augmented by an increasing tendency to seek medical treatment by western methods. Although the greatest number of the population still have recourse first to traditional Chinese herbal methods of treatment for minoT maladies, in the event of more serious illness they are turning more and more to public clinics and hospitals for aid.

3. The Medical and Health Department provides hospital and clinic facilities throughout both urban and rural areas. It also maintains maternal and child health, school health, port health and specialist services; it has the responsibility for measures to control epidemics and the endemic diseases of major public health importance. All these facilities have been subject to heavy and increasing pressure during the past few years and, although the year 1960-61 saw the first Fruits of the planned building programme, there was little alleviation of the strain on most branches of the Department's activities.

4. This pressure on hospitals and clinics was particularly heavy, not only on those maintained by Government but also on those controlled

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