ENG-1963 — Page 64

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Population

THE total population of the Colony at the end of 1963 was estimated to be 3,642,500. Of this number, on the basis of language and place of origin, some 98 per cent could be described as Chinese. This estimate is based on the census of population taken in February and March 1961, adjusted for births, deaths and migration. Details of the census have been published in Report of the Census, 1961.*

The census in 1961 found the total population (including 3,483 transients) to be 3,133,131. It had increased by over 2 millions since the last census taken in 1931. Another census should have been held in 1941, but the unsettled conditions which followed the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, the fluctuations in popula- tion after the attack on Canton in 1938 and later the Japanese occupation of the Colony, caused the plan to be abandoned. An unofficial count by air-raid wardens in 1941 before the Japanese attack put the population at about 1,600,000. This number was greatly reduced during the occupation and the total population was estimated to be less than 600,000 when the Colony was liberated in August 1945. The population grew rapidly again with the end of hostilities. An assessment of the population in September 1949, by the then Department of Statistics put the total at 1,857,000.

During 1963, the population increased by 116,000 to reach the estimated total of 3,642,500. Of this increase, 95,500 was due to the excess of registered births over registered deaths and 20,500 represented the estimated net balance of migration. The influx of immigration which reached an unprecedented height in 1962 re- laxed to a more normal flow in 1963.

The actual number of registered births was 115,263 in 1963 compared with 111,905 in 1962, registered deaths numbered 19,748 compared with 20,324 in 1962. These figures yield for 1963 a

* The report consists of three volumes and costs $40. It can be obtained at the Government publications counter in the General Post Office, Hong Kong; overseas orders should be sent direct to the Government Printer, Java Road, Hong Kong and should include postage.