HONG KONG, Feb 17: The provisional estimate of the Hong Kong population was 7,333,200 at the end of 2022, representing a decrease of 68,300 or 0.9 percent from 7,401,500 at the end of 2021, according to the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday.A natural decrease of 29,500 was recorded between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022, with 32,500 births and 62,100 deaths.
"It is believed that the epidemic would have impacted talent inflow, especially those on short-term employment visas/entry permits. We noticed that the population decrease in the second half of 2022 has narrowed when compared to that in the first half, reflecting that movement of the Hong Kong population has begun to resume normal gradually," a spokesperson for the HKSAR government said.
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Relevant factors which had affected talent inflow would dissipate gradually when the society and economy of Hong Kong further return to normalcy amid Hong Kong's resumption of normal travel with the Chinese mainland and other places around the world, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the HKSAR government aims to admit at least 35,000 talents annually with an intended duration of stay of at least 12 months through the talent admissions schemes from 2023 to 2025.
(RSS/Xinhua)
