HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's population slipped 0.3% to 7.403 million last year, according to government estimates, raising further concerns over the city's future as a global financial center as pandemic isolation and political turmoil feed an exodus of talent.
A net 23,600 people left the city last year, extending a drop-off that started in 2020. While the airport's arrival halls, once among the busiest in the world, are now eerily quiet, crowds continue to line up at departure gates.
