Hong Kong Population Drops for 3rd Year Amid Political Exodus

Hong Kong Population Drops for 3rd Year Amid Political Exodus
People wearing masks walk across a busy street at the Causeway Bay shopping district in Hong Kong on Feb. 7, 2023. Andy Wong/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:
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HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s government announced Thursday that the territory’s population dropped for a third straight year as deaths rose during the pandemic and anti-virus measures reduced the number of arriving workers, but did not mention an exodus of residents sparked by a clampdown of the pro-democracy movement.

The city’s population declined 0.9 percent to 7.3 million at the end of 2022 from a year earlier, according to provisional data released by the Census and Statistics Department. It said there was a net outflow of 60,000 residents, with 21,200 new residents arriving.