***********************************************************
According to the results of the 2011 Population Census, there were a total of 860 002 youths in 2011, constituting 12.6% of the whole population in Hong Kong. The number of youths decreased slightly over the past 10 years, from 887 432 in 2001 to 860 002 in 2011.
Youths refer to population aged 15 to 24 for both sexes. To facilitate more concrete analyses of the characteristics of the local youth population, foreign domestic helpers are excluded from the compilation of all the figures related to youths, though foreign domestic helpers are generally part of the Hong Kong Resident Population.
In 2011, 49.3% of youths were aged 15-19 and the remaining 50.7% aged 20-24. The sex ratio (i.e. number of males per 1 000 females) of youth population was 1 042, which indicates that the respective numbers of male youths were greater than those of females. In particular, the sex ratio in the age group 15-19 (1 053) was slightly higher than that in the age group 20-24 (1 032).
The proportion of youths who had never married rose from 96.2% in 2001 to 97.9% in 2011, while the proportion of youths who were now married dropped from 3.6% to 2.0% over the same period. This demonstrates that youths are less likely to be married than in the past, reflecting trends towards marriage at later ages and towards remaining single.
Owing to the increased post-secondary education opportunities in the past 10 years, the youth population with post-secondary education increased substantially. In 2001, 173 225 youths (or 19.5% of the youth population) had attended post-secondary education, whereas by 2011 the number reached 338 301 (or 39.3% of the youth population).
In 2011, an overwhelming majority (94.6%) of youths lived with parent(s) only and in contrast, about 1% of youths lived on their own. The most common type of housing for youths was private permanent housing no matter what their living arrangements were. Some 38% of youths lived in public rental housing and 42.9% in private permanent housing.
Further details about the characteristics of youths are available in the publication entitled "Hong Kong 2011 Population Census Thematic Report: Youths" which has been published today (January 21). Users can download this publication free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp170.jsp?productCode=B1120063).
Ends/Monday, January 21, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:00
NNNN
