How to solve Hong Kong’s triple whammy: ageing population, baby dearth and job losses?
In the fourth of our series of previews on the five-year plan and policy address, to be announced on September 16, Fiona Sun and Edith Lin analyse how to improve livelihoods in the city by tackling the impact of demographic changes and technological advancement. Read part one here, part two here and part three here. Twenty-eight-year-old Hong Kong resident Fong and his wife want to have a child…
Hong Kong faces a triple whammy of an ageing population, a declining birth rate, and job losses. Twenty-eight-year-old Fong and his wife, who earns around HK$10,000 a month, struggle to afford raising a child due to high living costs and unstable wages. The city has seen a record-low of births, with only 29,700 recorded in the past mid-year update.
The growing dependency ratio, with fewer working-age people supporting an increasing elderly and young population, puts pressure on the government's fiscal constraints. Experts suggest that a holistic strategy, including job creation, upskilling the workforce, and leveraging emerging industries, is necessary to address these issues.
They also propose prioritizing the attraction of Mainland Chinese immigrants for family reunions, work, or study to counteract the declining birth rate.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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