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Births and deaths registrations in Hong Kong are governed by the Births
and Deaths Registration Ordinance. Parents must report the birth of their
child in Hong Kong to the Registrar of Births and Deaths within 42 days
and the birth can be registered without any fee. A fee is charged if the
birth is registered after 42 days and not later than one year. Beyond
12 months after the birth of the child, consent of the Registrar of Births
and Deaths is required for post-registration. During the year, 63 births
were post-registered.
There are four district birth registries providing
birth registration service to the public.
Deaths from natural causes should be registered by
the relatives within 24 hours. Hong Kong has three death registries providing
a free service, and death may also be registered at one of the 15 designated
police stations in the New Territories and outlying islands.
During the year, 47 687 live births and 36 422 deaths
were registered, compared with 48 119 and 34 316 respectively in 2002.
When adjusted for under-registration, the figures gave a natural population
increase of about 0.14 per cent. |
