ENG-1983 — Page 321

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POPULATION

The 1981 Census showed that 57.2 per cent of the population was born in Hong Kong. About 98 per cent of the population can be described as Chinese on the basis of place of origin. Most of these people originated from Guangdong Province. Those from Guang- zhou, Hong Kong, Macau and adjacent places form the largest community while the second largest group is Siyi, followed by the Chaozhou group. The remaining Chinese population have their origins in other parts of Guangdong and other provinces of China.

At the end of 1983, the estimated number of non-Hong Kong Commonwealth citizens residing either permanently or temporarily in Hong Kong was 66 400. These comprised: British 19 700 (excluding members of the Armed Forces); Indian 14 700; Malaysian 9 300; Australian 7 700; Singaporean 4 600; Canadian 5 500; and other Commonwealth countries 4 900. The estimate for non-Commonwealth permanent and temporary residents was 84 400. Of these, the largest groups were: Filipino 24 200; American 12 800; Pakistani 7 200; Japanese 6 900; Thai 9 200; Portuguese 7 600; Indonesian 3 700; German 2 100; Korean 2 100; French 1 500 and Dutch 1 100.

Marriages

All marriages in Hong Kong are governed by the Marriage Ordinance and the Marriage Reform Ordinance. Under the Marriage Ordinance, at least 15 days' notice of an intended marriage must be given to the Registrar of Marriages. The Registrar has discretionary powers to reduce the period of notice in special circumstances or to grant a special licence dispensing with notice altogether. But this is done only in the most exceptional circumstances. Marriages may take place either at any of the 185 places of public worship licensed for the celebration of marriages, or at any of the 11 full-time marriage registries and four part-time sub-registries located in the main urban districts and rural centres. During the year, 45 514 marriages were performed in the registries and 2 367 at licensed places of worship. All records are maintained at the principal marriage registry at the City Hall.

Many couples wish to be married over the weekends (especially when the auspicious days of the lunar calendar fall on Saturday or Sunday). To meet this demand, the principal marriage registries operate on Saturdays and Sundays. All registries also make provision for group marriages.

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 other marriages known as modern marriages provided, in each case, they were entered into before October 7, 1971. The ordinance also makes provision for the post-registration of these marriages, and for their dissolution. During the year, 71 customary and 26 modern marriages were post-registered.

Births and Deaths

The registration of births and deaths is compulsory, and facilities for registration are provided throughout Hong Kong. The General Register Office keeps all records of births and deaths, and there are 10 registries in the 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. During the year, 82 015 live births and 26 485 deaths were registered, compared with 86 036 and 25 460 respectively in 1982. The figures, when adjusted for under-registration, gave a natural increase in population for 1983 of approximately 57 583.