Hong Kong: population and ages

In mid-1950 there were 1.98 million people, so the population is now 3.7 times as large.

The UN projects 38,100 births and 59,200 deaths in 2026, 21,000 more deaths than births.

Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 2021.

More people leave than move in: net migration in 2026 is projected at minus 12,600.

The median age is 47.9, which is 16.8 years above the world’s 31.1.

10% of the people are under 15 and 24% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

People aged 65 and over have outnumbered children under 15 since 2010.

Women have 0.7 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 4.3 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 85.9 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 57.8.

For mid-2050 the UN projects 6.09 million people, 17% fewer than now, with a median age of 62.0.

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 85.5 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 25.2 more years for women and 21.2 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 36.8 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 94.7.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 2.08 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 0 to 16.1 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

In mid-2024, 3.06 million international migrants lived here, 41.3% of the population.

In mid-2024, 1.24 million people from here lived in other countries.