Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns and Changes in Household Structure in Hong Kong

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Family and Social Change in Chinese Societies

Part of the book series: The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis ((PSDE,volume 35))

  • 1946 Accesses

Abstract

Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, when it was returned to China and became a special administrative region. Since its cession from China to Britain in 1842, Hong Kong has experienced massive population growth. At the beginning of its colonial status, Hong Kong was a small fishing village. The first census published in May 1841 found the total population of Hong Kong to be only 7,450 inhabitants (Ng 1984). In 20011, Hong Kong’s population reached 7.07 million (Census and Statistics Department 2012). Now, Hong Kong is a modern city characterized by a high level of economic development and an urban population. Hong Kong attracts residents from all over the world, although the majority of its population is Chinese (Census and Statistics Department 2012).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Because the 1996 by-Census household size and population data were derived on a de jure basis, whereas before 1996 the censuses were de facto, the DE during the period from 1991 to 1996 was relatively high, which was inconsistent with the situation in Phase 3.

  2. 2.

    For household composition the censuses and by-censuses in 1981 and 1996 were de jure, whereas the 1976 by-census, the 1981 Census and the 1991 Census were de facto. The change of the basis in the measurement of household composition had the most impact on the “one person” households’ enumeration.

  3. 3.

    Influenced by historical and various social factors, there was no formal legislation regarding marriage in Hong Kong until the early 1970s. Since October 1971 all marriages in Hong Kong have to be contracted in accordance with the Marriage Reform Ordinance and then recorded in the official statistics. This fact partially contributes to the high proportions of extra-marital births in the 1970s and the early 1980s.

References

  • Alders, M., & Manting, D. (1999). Compilation of household scenario for the European Union, 1995–2025. Paper for the Joint ECE-Eurostat Work Session on Demographic Projections, Perugia, 3–7 May 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burch, T. K. (1970). Some demographic determinants of average household size: An analytical approach. Demography, 7, 61–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (1983). Demographic trends in Hong Kong, 1971–82: An analysis based on vital registration statistics of births, marriages, and deaths and on census results. Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (1991). Hong Kong 1991 population census: Enumerator (long form) instruction manual. Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (1997a). Demographic trends in Hong Kong, 1981–1996. Hong Kong: HKSAR Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (1997b). 1996 population by-census: Main report. Hong Kong: HKSAR Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2001a). 2001 population census: Main report (Vol. 1). Hong Kong: HKSAR Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2001b). 2001 population census: Main report (Vol. 2). Hong Kong: HKSAR Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2007a). 2006 population by-census: Main report (Vol. 1). Hong Kong: HKSAR Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2007b). Demographic trends in Hong Kong, 1981–2006. Hong Kong: HKSAR Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2012). 2011 population census: Summary results. Hong Kong: HKSAR Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuijsten, A. (1995). Recent trends in household and family structures in Europe: An overview. In E. van Imhoff, A. Kuijsten, & P. Hooimeijer (Eds.), Household demography and household modelling. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuznets, S. (1978). Size and average structure of family households: Exploratory comparisons. Population and Development Review, 4(2), 187–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laslett, P. (1972). Household and family in past time. Cambridge: University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M.-K. (1991). Family and social life. In Lau Siu-kai (Ed.), Indicators of social development: Hong Kong 1988. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowe, V. H. (1983). Family structure and fertility in Hong Kong. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, M. J. (1991). Household modelling and forecasting – Dynamic approaches with use of linked census data. Environment and Planning A, 23, 885–902.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ng, N. Y. T. (1984). The early population of Hong Kong: Growth, distribution and structural change 1841–1931. Paper presented at the 9th Conference of the International Association of Historians of Asia held in Manila, November 1983, Occasional Paper No. 62. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suzuki, T. (1999). Projection of households in Japan with a dynamic macro-simulation model. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California at Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (1974). The demographic situation in Hong Kong. Bangkok: Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong Fai-ming. (1972). Maternal employment and family task – Power differentiation among lower income Chinese families. Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, Social Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong Fai-ming. (1975). Industrialization and family structure in Hong Kong. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 37(4), 958–1000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeng, Y., Vaupel, J. W., & Wang, Z. (1997). A multidimensional model for projecting family households – With an illustrative numerical application. Mathematical Population Studies, 6(3), 187–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

    Edward Jow-Ching Tu

  2. Center for Social and Economic Research, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

    Jianping Wang

Authors
  1. Edward Jow-Ching Tu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jianping Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Edward Jow-Ching Tu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Dudley L. Poston, Jr.

  2. Academia Sinica Inst. Social Sciences & Philosophy, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan

    Wen Shan Yang

  3. Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of West Alabama, Livingston, Alabama, USA

    Demetrea Nicole Farris

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Tu, E.JC., Wang, J. (2014). Patterns and Changes in Household Structure in Hong Kong. In: Poston, Jr., D., Yang, W., Farris, D. (eds) The Family and Social Change in Chinese Societies. The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis, vol 35. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7445-2_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation