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Economy

Hong Kong population declines for first time since 2003

Financial hub's jobless rate swells to near 17-year high of 7% amid pandemic

Hong Kong's population fell to 7.47 million in 2020 as deaths exceeded births for the first time since reliable records began in 1961.   © Reuters

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong recorded a decline in its population last year for the first time in 17 years, as the city logged more deaths than births due to the coronavirus pandemic, a persistently low birthrate and an increase in emigration in light of a new national security law.

The financial hub's population fell to 7.47 million in 2020, a 0.6% decrease from a year earlier, the Census and Statistics Department said on Thursday in its annual population report.

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