Over HK$520 million given to families with newborns under Hong Kong’s ‘baby bonus’ scheme
Hong Kong Free Press
The Hong Kong government has distributed around HK$520 million under a “baby bonus” scheme that gives HK$20,000 to families with newborns in an attempt to boost the city’s low birth rate.
A total of 26,948 applications were received from last October to the end of September, according to a Legislative Council paper published on Tuesday. Money has been disbursed to more than 95 per cent of applicants.
The figures were provided in a document submitted to a Legislative Council subcommittee that studies the city’s population policies ahead of its meeting on the coming Monday.
Called the Newborn Baby Bonus scheme, the initiative was announced during Chief Executive John Lee’s Policy Address last year. The three-year scheme offers a one-off HK$20,000 allowance to families in which at least one parent is a Hong Kong permanent resident, and whose babies are born between last October and October 2026.
The cash handouts were among measures introduced during last year’s Policy Address aimed at increasing the city’s birth rate. Lee also announced that the Housing Authority would begin prioritising families with children to help them purchase subsidised flats under home ownership schemes. Families with newborns who were in the queue for public housing also had their wait times reduced by one year.
The policies came as Hong Kong, like other developed societies, has seen its fertility rate fall. In 2023, there were 751 births per a population of 1,000 females, compared to 1,125 a decade ago.
Some Hongkongers, however, said the handout was not enough to encourage couples to have children. Critics pointed to insufficient childcare options as well as the high cost of raising a child in Hong Kong.
Earlier this year, a survey by the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong showed that only around half of Hong Kong’s young adults plan to have children, a record low.
In this year’s Policy Address, Lee announced that civil servants with children aged under three would be granted childcare leave as part of its goal to supporting families. Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung said government employees would receive three days of childcare leave annually from next April.
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