Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese Email this article news.gov.hk
"Hong Kong 2011 Population Census Thematic Report: Older Persons" published
*********************************************************

     According to the results of the 2011 Population Census, there were 941 312 older persons in Hong Kong in 2011, constituting 13.3% of the whole population in Hong Kong. The number of older persons increased at an average annual growth rate of 4.8% over the past 50 years (from 1961 to 2011), as compared to that of the whole population at 1.6% over the same period.

     In the analysis on the population sub-group of older persons, older persons refer to population aged 65 and over for both sexes.

     Among older persons in 2011, 24.9% aged 65-69, 46.3% aged 70-79 and 28.8% aged 80 and over. The share of the oldest people (aged 80 and over) continued to increase over the past decade. Among older persons in 2001, those aged 80 and over constituted 19.6% only.

     Among older persons in 2011, 91.4% were living in domestic households. These include 12.7% of older persons living alone, 23.6% with spouse only, 29.7% with spouse and children, and 21.4% with children only. As compared with the distribution ten years ago, the proportion of older persons living with children (including those with spouse and children and those with children only) dropped from 56.8% in 2001 to 51.2% in 2011. On the contrary, the proportions of older persons living with spouse only and those living alone rose by 5.2 and 1.4 percentage points respectively over the same period. On the other hand, 8.6% of the older persons in 2011 were living in non-domestic households (i.e. living in homes for the aged, hospitals and penal institutions, etc), about the same as the proportion of 9.1% in 2001.

     Among older persons living in domestic households in 2011, the proportions of those living in public rental housing, subsidised home ownership housing and private permanent housing were 38.6%, 17.6% and 42.8% respectively. Most of the older persons in private permanent housing were living in owner-occupier households, including 71.2% without mortgage payment or loan repayment and 14.0% with mortgage payment or loan repayment.

     In 2011, Kwun Tong had the largest number of older persons living therein among the 18 District Council districts, constituting 10.8% of older persons. The District Council districts with the second and the third largest number of older persons were Eastern (9.8%) and Kwai Tsing (8.0%) respectively. As regards the proportion of older persons in a district, Wong Tai Sin (17.6%) ranked top, being followed by Sham Shui Po (17.0%) and Kwun Tong (16.3%), while Sai Kung ranked last with 9.0%.

     Further details about the characteristics of older persons are available in the publication entitled "Hong Kong 2011 Population Census Thematic Report: Older Persons" which has been published today (February 18). Users can download this publication free of charge at the website of the Census and Statistics Department (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp170.jsp?productCode=B1120064).

Ends/Monday, February 18, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:00

NNNN

Print this page