ENG-1993 — Page 474

25

POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION

410

THE population of Hong Kong passed the six million figure for the first time in 1993. There were 6 019 900 people in the territory at the end of the year, comprising 3 058 300 males and 2 961 600 females.

This represented an increase of 117 800 persons, or two per cent, from the population estimate for the end of 1992.

The rise was due to 41 300 more births than deaths and a net inflow of 76 500 arrivals. It is estimated that some 60 per cent of the territory's population was born in Hong Kong and some 34 per cent in China, according to the last population census carried out in 1991.

Illegal immigrants from China continued to pose a problem, with 37 517 arrested. This was a five per cent increase compared to 1992. The year saw the first case of an employer hiring illegal immigrants being sentenced to imprisonment by the courts. A total of 77 such employers were prosecuted in 1993.

—

A sudden influx of 2 389 ex-China Vietnamese illegal immigrants arrived in the middle of the year. By the year's end, 1 514 had been repatriated to China by air and land transport. The use of chartered and commercial flights to return 1342 in the group represented the first airborne repatriation from Hong Kong to China.

The Vietnamese migrant population in the territory continued to drop. A detailed report on Vietnamese migrants is included later in this chapter.

The 10-Year Trend

The population at the end of the year represented an increase of 11.9 per cent on the 1983 population estimate of 5 377 400.

The annual growth rate of the population averaged 1.1 per cent over the 10-year period. The average annual growth of the population was 1.1 per cent during 1984-88, and 1.2 per cent during 1989–93. Despite a decrease in the number of births in the second half of the decade, the population still grew at about the same rate as in the first half, due to a larger net inflow of persons into the territory.

The rate of natural increase in the population dropped steadily over the 10-year period from 11 to 6.8 per 1 000. This was the result of the declining birth rate -- down from 16 per 1 000 in 1983 to 12 per 1 000 in 1993 and a stable death rate, at about five per 1 000.

With its land area of only 1078 square kilometres, Hong Kong is one of the most densely-populated places in the world. The overall population density per square kilo- metre was 5 700 in 1993. The figure conceals wide variations among different areas in the