Hong Kong births fall below 30,000 for first time, even as population edges up

Hong Kong recorded fewer than 30,000 births annually for the first time on record – a 15.6 per cent year-on-year decline – even as its population rose by 0.3 per cent to more than 7.5 million by mid-2026, according to the latest official figures. Provisional data from the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that the city recorded 29,700 births between mid-2025 and mid-2026, down 15.