ENG-1975 — Page 255

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POPULATION

worship. The total of 36,201 was 1,433 less than in 1974. All records are maintained at the principal marriage registry at the City Hall.

The Marriage Reform Ordinance provides that all marriages entered into in Hong Kong on or after October 7, 1971, shall imply the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others and may be contracted only in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance. It declares valid certain customary marriages and validates certain other marriages known as modern marriages, provided in each case they were entered into before October 7, 1971. The ordinance also makes provision for post-registration of these customary and modern marriages and for dissolution of such marriages by mutual consent. During the year, 52 customary and 19 modern marriages were post-registered, including 16 in the New Territories.

On November 1, 1975, some fees payable in respect of marriage registration were revised. The two principal fees---for the filing and exhibition of notice of marriage and for a marriage at the office of the Registrar-were increased from $10 to $20 and from $50 to $80 respectively.

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Births and Deaths

The registration of births and deaths is compulsory, and facilities for registration are provided throughout Hong Kong. The General Register Office in Central keeps all records of births and deaths, and there are sub-registries in all main urban and rural districts. In the outlying areas and islands, births are registered at rural com- mittee offices by visiting district registrars and deaths are registered at local police stations.

The statutory period during which a birth should be registered is 42 days from the date of birth. For this there is no registration fee. Between the end of the 42-day period and the expiration of one year from the date of birth a fee of $5 is charged for registration. During the year 78,200 live births and 21,191 deaths were registered, compared with 81,879 and 22,050 respectively in 1974. These figures, when adjusted for under-registration, give a natural increase in population for 1975 of about 58,230. Illegitimate births registered during the year totalled 6,543 compared with 5,795 in 1974.

A birth which has not been registered within one year may be post-registered with the consent of the Registrar and on payment of a $30 fee. During the year 1,638 births were post-registered, including 349 in the New Territories. The principal reason given for non-registration at the time of birth was simple negligence, but there con- tinues to be a number of applications for post-registration in respect of adults because facilities for registration were not available until 1932. Also some cases relate to births during the war years when there was no registration. However, in most cases last year applications for post-registration were in respect of minors. New Territories cases are dealt with at local sub-registries or by mobile registration teams. All applica- tions for the post-registration of anyone who is more than six years old or who was not born in a hospital are passed to a legal officer in the Registrar General's Depart- ment for final approval.

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