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Part III.
POPULATION.
(1) DEFINITION OF POPULATION,
The population consists of all persons who were enumerated as being alive and present within the Colony of Hong Kong at midnight, March 7-8, 1931, persons on board vessels which were in port on that night, persons who were on craft of any kind in the waters of the Colony on March 7 or 8 and, in a few outlying areas, persons living on floating craft who are normally within the waters of the Colony and were within these waters at some period within 10 days before the Census Night (that is, though they might actually have been elsewhere on Census Night). The population, therefore, comprises visitors as well as residents, persons of British and alien nationalities, civilians and non-civilians, and in all tables the totals for the Colony refer, unless specifically defined, to the aggregate population so described.
As usual it was the de facto population that was enumerated.
It would, per- haps, be interesting to find out the number of persons who claim Hong Kong as their normal place of residence by asking a question on that head, but while the temporary residents and visitors would thus be eliminated, there would be no means of obtaining particulars of permanent residents of the Colony who might be absent on Census Night. It is impossible, therefore, to carry out a de jure enumeration. A judicious selection of the census date usually makes it possible, however, to secure figures substantially equivalent to the normal population except in so far as there is a constant coming and going between the Chinese mainland and the Colony with a balance sometimes one way and sometimes another. The date chosen for Hong Kong was fixed with special reference to Chinese New Year's Day and the Tsing Ming Festival. The first of these was on February 17, and the second on April 6, 1931. The date chosen, namely, March 7, was satisfactory though a date a week or a fortnight later might have been better. Returns from the Harbour Office and from the Kowloon-Canton Railway show that, while there was a balance outward of about 11,000 persons during the two weeks ending February 28, in the following week which ended on Census Day there was an inward balance of over 7,500 persons. The bulk, therefore, of those who had left the Colony for the Chinese New Year's holiday had probably returned.
As regards the population afloat normally based on Hong Kong, this, however, was not the case and the figures obtained are less than what would be expected. The fishing fleet and large cargo boats had been in port over Chinese New Year's Day, the crews had had their holiday, had probably spent all their money and they were off again to earn more. They were conspicuously absent on Census Night.
(2) POPULATION OF THE COLONY,
The total population enumerated as present in the Colony on the night of March 7, 1931, amounted to 849,751 persons, of whom 491,858 were males and 357,893 females.
The distribution of the population in the main divisions of the Colony is as follows:-
Island of Hong Kong
Kowloon Peninsula
New Territories
Population Afloat
Males
Females
Total
247,967
162,954
410,921
146,618
118,057
264,675
50,147
48,758
98,905
47,126
28,124
75,250
491,858
357,893
849,751
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