1 in 3 Hongkongers intend to move abroad, survey finds
Hong Kong Free Press
A third of Hong Kong residents have said they intend to move overseas, according to a recent survey. The proportion remained largely unchanged from the previous year despite residents rating the city’s liveability higher.
The Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, under the Chinese University of Hong Kong, released the results of its annual poll on migration plans and the city’s liveability on Monday.
Just over 34 per cent of respondents said they intended to leave Hong Kong – down from 37.7 per cent last year – according to a press release. The researchers said the difference in percentage distribution was “not statistically significant.”
This year’s figure is lower than levels seen between 2019 and 2021, when over 40 per cent of respondents said they wanted to move abroad. The two years were marked by large-scale protests and unrest, the legislation of a sweeping national security law, and the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over the past nine years, 2022 saw the smallest percentage of people who said they wanted to leave, with the figure standing at 28.4 per cent.
Respondents also gave Hong Kong’s liveability an average score of 60.8 out of 100 this year – up from 56.5 last year.
The results were based on interviews of 711 residents aged 18 or above by phone between October 9 and 25.
Top destinations
Among those who said they wanted to move abroad, 26.6 per cent said they had been preparing for emigration recently, whereas 73.1 per cent said they had not.
Australia ranked as the top desired destination, with 12.7 per cent of those who wanted to leave Hong Kong saying they wished to move there. The UK ranked second, followed by Canada, Taiwan, and Japan.
Meanwhile, 27.6 per cent who indicated that they wanted to leave said they did not know or had not decided on a destination.
Regarding their reasons for intending to leave the city, 23.8 per cent cited the poor economy in Hong Kong and the lack of economic prospects, making it the most popular answer.
Meanwhile, 14.9 per cent and 14.1 per cent said the undemocratic system and the political volatility in Hong Kong contributed to their intention to leave, respectively.
Separately, around one in five respondents said they wanted to move to mainland China if they had the chance – similar to the level recorded last year.
Hong Kong saw a large population outflow during the Covid-19 pandemic and after Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 to quell the protests and unrest in the previous year.
According to the survey, the percentage of residents wishing to leave the city peaked in 2020 at 43.9 per cent. In 2021, a total of 42 per cent said they would move abroad if given the chance.
At the end of 2019, Hong Kong had a population of 7.52 million. The figure dropped to 7.35 million in June 2022 before bouncing back.
The city had a population of around 7.53 million as of June this year.
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