ENG-1962 — Page 383

322

GEOGRAPHY

the total population to be 3,133,131, of whom 1,610,650 were male and 1,522,481 female.

The bulk of the population comes from the neighbouring Chinese province of Kwangtung. It consists of Cantonese, easily the largest group, followed by Hakka, Hoklo and Tanka. Since 1949 many have come from other parts of China, especially the coastal provinces. Not all of Hong Kong's phenomenal increase is due to immigrant population; the natural annual increase of officially registered births over deaths is close to 100,000. The greatest concentration of people (a little over 70 per cent) live around the coastal fringes of the harbour, where the population pressure strikes the visitor most forcibly. The birth rate in Hong Kong is about 3.5 per cent. This is much higher than that of most European industrial countries, where the rate is about two per cent, and indicates the Chinese custom of having large families.

CLIMATE

The climate of Hong Kong is governed by the monsoons, and although the Colony lies within the tropics it enjoys a variety of weather from season to season unusual for tropical countries. The winter monsoon blows from the north or north-east and normally begins during September. It prevails from October until mid- March, but can occur as late as May. Early winter is the most pleasant time of the year, when the weather is generally dry and sunny with mean daily temperatures about 70°F to 75°F; this is the most popular time of the year with tourists. After the New Year the sky is more often clouded, though rainfall remains slight; frequently the days are overcast and dull with chilly winds. Coastal fogs occur from time to time in early spring during breaks in the monsoon-when warm south-easterly winds may temporarily displace the cool north-easterlies.

The summer monsoon blows from the south or south-west and although it can occur from mid-April until September it is not as persistent as the north-east monsoon of winter. During this part of the year the weather is almost continuously hot and humid, and is often cloudy and showery with occasional thunderstorms. Summer is the rainy season. The annual rainfall, as measured at the Royal Observatory, has varied between 46 inches and 120 inches, but the normal value is 85 inches. On average the five