Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Leung and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (September 10):
 
Question:

     According to the statistics of mid-year population for 2025 released by the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong's overall population has shown slight growth, benefiting from various measures on talent attraction. On the other hand, society is also concerned about the integration of immigrants and the related issues of social resource allocation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of persons who came to Hong Kong as dependants under various talent admission schemes in each of the past three years and this year to date; whether the authorities have projected the potential increase in population in the coming years as a result of such schemes;

(2) as it is learnt that in recent years, hundreds of thousands of immigrants have come to Hong Kong through various talent admission schemes, of the measures put in place by the authorities to co-ordinate policies and supporting arrangements in areas such as education, healthcare, housing and employment to meet the needs of both the local and immigrant populations; whether tracking surveys and studies and analysis of admitted talents will be strengthened so as to optimise the effectiveness of various talent admission schemes; and

(3) when formulating the indicators for the new round of talent admission policies, whether the Government will simultaneously consider the overall impact of the relevant talent admission schemes on the population structure, and formulate policy planning and allocate public resources from a high-level and macro perspective; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) compiles new population projection every five years to understand the trend of change in Hong Kong's population during the projection period so as to provide the basis for the Government's planning in various policy areas and resource allocation. 

     To address the challenges in manpower demand brought by an ageing population, the Government implemented in end-2022 a package of measures to proactively trawl for talents from around the world. In recent years, outside talents gradually arrived in Hong Kong, with some bringing along their families to settle in Hong Kong. This has offset the impact of natural population decrease and effectively alleviating the challenges caused by the persistently low local birth rate and the ageing of the population. The overall population in mid-2025 has increased by over 180 000 compared to mid-2022. In addition, the arrival of these incoming talents has reversed the decline in the local labour force during the pandemic, and the majority of them are in the prime years of their careers. This further enriches the local talent pool and enhances Hong Kong's overall competitiveness. Hong Kong ranked first in Asia in the World Talent Ranking 2025 published yesterday by the International Institute for Management Development, leaping markedly to fourth globally from ninth last year and marking the highest-ever ranking. This is clear evidence that the series of talent attraction measures implemented by the current-term Government are in the right direction and yielding significant results.

     In consultation with the Education Bureau, the Health Bureau, the Housing Bureau, the C&SD, and the Immigration Department (ImmD), my reply to the Member's question is as follows:

(1) As at end-August 2025, the various talent admission schemes have attracted over 230 000 talents arriving in Hong Kong. Some brought along to Hong Kong their spouses and unmarried dependent children under the age of 18. Nearly 220 000 individuals have arrived in Hong Kong as dependants under the various talent admission schemes since 2023. A breakdown of the relevant statistics by talent admission scheme is at Annex.

     The Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB) and the C&SD published the latest manpower projection and population projection in 2024 and 2023 respectively. These projections have taken into account the impact of the major talent admission schemes. The LWB is now conducting a mid-term update of the manpower projection, which will comprehensively assess the implications of the latest global and local developments (including the Government's latest manpower policies and measures) on the manpower situation in 2028. The results are expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2026. On the other hand, the C&SD will conduct a population census in 2026 to obtain up-to-date benchmark information of the Hong Kong population. When the census results become available, the C&SD will update the population projection upon integrating the available data then about fertility, mortality and population movement with the prevailing policy factors.

(2) and (3) Currently, population policy measures have been subsumed under the portfolios of various bureaux as part of the ongoing efforts. The relevant policy bureaux are regularly reviewing the implementation and effectiveness of the measures under their purviews, performing their respective duties with cross-bureau collaboration so as to formulate and implement various policy measures in response to the latest social, demographic and manpower conditions. For instance, the Education Bureau will review education policies from time to time, with a view to meeting the needs of society. The Health Bureau will continue to deepen the reform of the healthcare system, including strengthening health promotion and disease prevention in primary healthcare; implementing reform on fees and charges for public healthcare; as well as enhancing the price transparency of private healthcare services, and encouraging better use of medical insurance to ensure the viability of Hong Kong's healthcare system. The Housing Bureau will continue to closely monitor the supply and demand of different types of housing and adjust the corresponding policies in a timely manner. The Chief Executive, and Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries of Departments are providing high-level steer as necessary through various channels, such as committees, working groups and inter-departmental meetings, to co-ordinate relevant inter-departmental work in light of changes in the local demography and manpower situation in various industries, continuously review the implementation and effectiveness of relevant measures and make timely adjustments, so as to meet Hong Kong's economic and social development needs. 

     As regards human resources planning, the Government will enhance the measures on local training, talent attraction and retention, in response to the trends of social development and manpower demand, and set corresponding key performance indicators as appropriate. In fact, the Government has been consistently collecting information on the employment situation of talents approved for admission upon their first entries and at the time of their applications for extension of stay. The Hong Kong Talent Engage under the LWB also maintains close contact with incoming talents to understand and keep track of their development and needs in Hong Kong through both online and offline channels, and provide support services. In respect of the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) newly launched by the current-term Government, the LWB will further invite applicants to participate in follow-up surveys when the ImmD issues their visas for extension of stay, in order to gather information on such areas as housing and education for dependent children of the TTPS talents approved for extension of stay. The first round of findings of the follow-up surveys and the situation of the extension of stay were released last month. The LWB will continue to keep in view the settlement of incoming talents in Hong Kong through various channels, and use the information as reference for the ongoing enhancement of talent admission policies and support services.

     Thank you, President.

Ends/Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Issued at HKT 14:11

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