Hong Kong's population last year was 7,510,800, an increase of 10,200 compared to the end of 2004, representing a 0.1% rise. According to statistics, Hong Kong's natural population growth last year was negative, and the slight increase in population was sustained solely by incoming residents.
According to the latest figures released by the official Census and Statistics Department, from the end of 2024 to the end of 2025, there were 31,100 local births and 50,000 deaths, resulting in a natural population decrease of 18,900. However, there was a net inflow of 29,100 people (i.e. more people immigrated than emigrated) during the same period.
A government spokesperson stated that last year's slight population increase was thanks to various talent attraction and imported labor measures, which offset the natural population decline.
After the outbreak of the 'anti-extradition bill' protests in Hong Kong in 2019, the city experienced a wave of emigration, with the following three years seeing peaks in migration that led to negative population growth. In response, the Hong Kong government launched a series of initiatives to attract overseas talent, aiming to boost economic development and fill the gap left by the population loss.
According to past records, most of the talents approved to come to Hong Kong in the past two years have mainly come from China.