January 2022 issue of “Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics” now available

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) published today (January 17) the January 2022 issue of the "Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics" (HKMDS).

     Apart from providing up-to-date statistics, this issue also contains two feature articles entitled "Rebased Series of Effective Exchange Rate Index for the Hong Kong Dollar" and "Marriage and Divorce Trends in Hong Kong, 1991 to 2020".

"Rebased Series of Effective Exchange Rate Index for the Hong Kong Dollar"

     The Effective Exchange Rate Index (EERI) for the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) compiled by the C&SD is an index which measures movements in the weighted average of the exchange rate of the HKD against the currencies of major trading partners of Hong Kong. The EERI has been rebased recently following existing practice. The new series has been published as from January 3, 2022, replacing the old series of EERI. This feature article discusses the differences between the rebased and the old series of EERI.

     For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Trade Analysis Section, the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4914; email: trade@censtatd.gov.hk).

"Marriage and Divorce Trends in Hong Kong, 1991 to 2020"

     This feature article provides an overview on the marriage and divorce trends in Hong Kong from 1991 to 2020.

     There has been an increasing tendency towards marriage postponement or non-marriage in both genders. In 2016, 32.4% of males and 28.0% of females had never been married (figures excluding foreign domestic helpers). The median ages at first marriage for males and females increased from 29.1 and 26.2 in 1991 to 31.9 and 30.4 in 2020 respectively. The number of registered marriages in Hong Kong decreased from 42 568 in 1991 to 32 825 in 2001, then rebounded to 60 459 in 2012, before dropping gradually to 44 247 in 2019. Hong Kong females marrying Mainland males has become more common. The proportion of such marriages to all cross-boundary marriages increased significantly from 6.1% in 1991 to 35.8% in 2019. On the other hand, the number of divorces increased in the past three decades or so, with the crude divorce rate (per 1 000 population) increased from 1.11 in 1991 to 2.82 in 2019. Amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of registered marriages dropped remarkably to 27 863 in 2020, whereas the crude divorce rate also decreased to 2.14 per 1 000 population.

     For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Demographic Statistics Section (1), the C&SD (Tel: 3903 6933; email: population@censtatd.gov.hk).

     Published in bilingual form, the HKMDS is a compact volume of official statistics containing about 140 tables. It collects up-to-date statistical series on various aspects of the social and economic situation of Hong Kong. Topics include population; labour; external trade; National Income and Balance of Payments; prices; business performance; energy; housing and property; government accounts, finance and insurance; and transport, communications and tourism. For selected key statistical items, over 20 charts depicting the annual trend in the past decade and quarterly or monthly trend in the recent two years are also available. Users can download the Digest at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1010002&scode=460).

     Enquiries about the contents of the Digest can be directed to the Statistical Information Dissemination Section (1) of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4738; email: gen-enquiry@censtatd.gov.hk).