Number of Hong Kong Emigrants Hit 22-Year Low Last Year

HONGKONG - The number of Hongkongers migrating to countries such as the United States and Canada has been falling steadily in the past eight years.

Figures hit a 22-year low last year, with only 10,500 moving abroad compared to the peak in 1992 which saw more than 66,000 leaving Hongkong.

Many Hongkongers hoping to seek greener pastures by migrating overseas are now having second thoughts due to the economic slowdown which has plagued Western countries, which are the favourite destinations of Hongkong migrants, analysts said.

They believed that the numbers would stay low for the next few years, reported Apple Daily.

Statistics from the Security Bureau showed that 6,100 people migrated to the United States, followed by 1,700 to Canada and 1,200 to Australia last year.

These three countries were also the top choices of migrants from Hongkong in 2001.

The figures showed that the number of Hongkongers migrating started to decline from 1995. A sociologist at the Hongkong Polytechnic University said that people are no longer guaranteed a better life by migrating overseas as these foreign countries have been hit by bad times.

At the same time, many Hongkongers are returning from overseas, lured by the opportunities offered by a fast-expanding China.

The migration figures are unlikely to surge in the short term.

However, experts predict there might be a slight increase with some civil servants migrating overseas after they receive a substantial pension payout under the government's voluntary retirement scheme, which is aimed at cutting costs.