ENG-1978 — Page 305

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POPULATION

provision for post-registration of these customary and modern marriages, and for dissolution of such marriages by mutual consent. During the year, 66 customary and 25 modern marriages were post-registered, including 25 in the New Territories.

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 District 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 various rural committee 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. There is no registration fee. However, för registration 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. During the year, 79,173 live births and 22,843 deaths were registered, compared with 78,807 and 23,459 respectively in 1977. These figures, when adjusted for under-registration, gave a natural increase in population for 1978 of about 56,900. Illegitimate births registered during the year totalled 6,152, compared with 6,774 in 1977.

A birth which has not been registered within one year may be post-registered with the consent of the Registrar of Births and Deaths and on payment of a $30 fee. During the year, 1,424 births were post-registered, including 280 in the New Territories. The principal reason given for non-registration at the time of birth was simple negligence, but a number of applications for post-registration of adults continued to be lodged because registration facilities were not available until 1932. In addition, some cases related to births which occurred during the war years, when there was no registration. But, in most cases during the year, applications for post-registration related to minors. New Territories cases are dealt with at local sub-registries or by a mobile registration team.

The General Register Office is responsible for the collection of vital statistics throughout Hong Kong. The information is recorded on various statistical forms and coding sheets for card punching and data processing by the government computer.

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