Hong Kong’s plunging births risk worsening demographic pressure

HONG KONG – Hong Kong is struggling to stem a decline in the number of births at a time when the city’s population is rapidly ageing. 

A total of 31,714 births were registered in the Asian financial hub in 2025, a drop of 14 per cent from 2024, the South China Morning Post reported, citing the office of Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk.

The figure is 3 per cent below the previous pandemic low in 2022.

The slump in the number of newborns ends a two-year growth trend and deals a blow to official efforts to tackle the city’s low birth rate – a common challenge faced by governments across East Asia. 

The decline will also aggravate demographic pressures in a city with one of the world’s most rapidly ageing populations, as more people leave the workforce.

The government projects the number of residents aged 65 and over will account for 31 per cent of the population by 2039, up from 20 per cent in 2021.

In April, a government paper said Hong Kong’s declining trend in fertility had begun to reverse, citing the end of the pandemic and measures to boost childbirth.

The city introduced a HK$20,000 (S$3,300) cash handout for each baby born to a permanent resident between October 2023 and October 2026. The authorities earlier estimated that the three-year, HK$2.29 billion scheme could help boost annual births to 39,000 – a 20 per cent increase from 2022.

Hong Kong has reduced the waiting time for families with newborns to apply for public housing – a key subsidised scheme for low-income families in one of the most unaffordable housing markets.

In Hong Kong, parents are required by law to register their newborn with the government within 42 days after birth.

The number of registered births typically matches closely with the figure of actual births, which will be announced by the Census and Statistics Department in February. BLOOMBERG