Due to Hong Kong’s persistently low birthrate and population aging, the Hong Kong authorities have decided to expand administrative measures to encourage citizens to have children, including raising tax allowances and continuing to provide related subsidies.
Since Chief Executive John Lee took office, he has changed the previous government’s non-intervention policy on childbirth, and in 2023 launched various pro-birth policies, including different tax incentives and other various preferential measures.
On the 17th, in his annual policy address, John Lee further introduced various pronatalist measures, including extending the period during which newborn children enjoy an additional tax allowance from the current one year to two years. Starting from the 2026-2027 tax year, taxpayers can claim double tax allowance for each child in the first two years after the child’s birth, i.e., HK$260,000 (MYR 140,100) per child.
In addition, the authorities will add 15 subsidized childcare centers over the next three years, providing about 1,500 day-care service places for 0-3 year olds, roughly doubling the current scale. Similar services include after-school childcare for children; the authorities will expand services in this area and there will no longer be a quota limit, so as to facilitate parents to go out to work.
According to the announcement, the Hong Kong government will also remove the statutory storage period for self-use gametes and embryos, making assisted reproduction more flexible; at the same time, families with newborn babies will continue to be given priority to move into government-subsidized public housing, etc.
According to figures released by the Family Planning Association the year before last, the proportion of couples in Hong Kong unwilling to have children reached a record high of 43.2%. In addition, the average number of children raised by each couple fell from 1.3 five years ago to 0.9, an all-time low.
The Hong Kong authorities projected in August that by mid-2046, Hong Kong’s population will rise to 8.19 million, and by then, those aged 65 or above will account for 36% of the total population (excluding foreign domestic helpers). The labor force participation rate will also drop from 55% in 2024 to 52%.