Education system not to blame for record low 31,100 births in Hong Kong: minister

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Ambrose Li,William YiuFebruary 12, 2026 at 10:10 AM

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short article 1 min

Hong Kong's birth rate fell to a record low of 31,100 in 2025, despite government efforts to encourage childbirth. The education minister maintains that school policies are not responsible for the decline. While births decreased, the city's overall population increased by 0.1% to 7.51 million due to a net inflow of 29,100 residents, attributed to talent attraction and labor importation schemes. The government introduced a "baby bonus" in 2023 and plans to offer tax allowances to new parents starting in the 2026-27 financial year, hoping to increase the number of births. However, the 2025 birth rate was significantly lower than the government's earlier projections.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Census and Statistics Department 60% John Lee Ka-chiu 70% Hong Kong ×595%

Keywords

low birth rate 100% population decline 80% births 70% talent attraction 60% baby bonus 60% tax allowance 50% population estimate 50% labour importation 40% education system 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Neutral

Score: -0.10

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Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Hong Kong

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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low birth rate population decline births talent attraction baby bonus tax allowance population estimate labour importation education system

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