The news is out. Hong Kong's fertility rate is now under 1%.

My wife once returned to Hong Kong for a visit after living abroad for over a decade. She went to meet many old friend and many childhood places for old time's sake. She made a remark that the kindergarten she went to has now become a senior home. In a city where things are eternally in flux, few people would have raised an eyebrow about this change. I, however, laughed hysterically because I see too much irony there. A kindergarten has turned into a senior home, this is probably the best epitome of the aging of population in Hong Kong.

The population pyramid of 2006, published in the Demographic Trends In Hong Kong by the Census and Statistics Department, look more like a wacky diamond than a pyramid. Few people talk the issue of severe population ageing, as least not as much their concern about stock price or real estate value. But it is a silent problem that only going to get worst.

What will the demographic of Hong Kong looks like in 30 years, a society with predominantly old people? How different it would be compare to the society 30 years ago when I grew up?

2007.12.28 comments