Hong Kong’s expatriate population plunges by one third

HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s expatriate population has plunged by one third in five years as British, American, Canadian and Australian citizens move out in their thousands, a news report said Sunday.

As the former British colony prepares for the 10th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule, figures show the number of western expatriates has fallen from 106,740 in 2001 to 71,150 in 2006.

The fall in British citizens has been particularly steep with the total British population falling from 13,490 in 2005 to 11,420 last year, the South China Morning Post reported.

Over the same period, the number of Canadian citizens fell 14.6 per cent, Americans by 5.8 per cent and Australians by 7.3 per cent, according to Immigration Department arrival and departure records.

There has, however, been a rise of 2 per cent in the number of Indians and 1.7 per cent in the number of Pakistanis living in the city of 6.9 million from 2005 to 2006.

Analysts say that the fall in the western population is caused by increasing localization of jobs as well as its expensive international schools and worsening air pollution.

Hong Kong was a British colony for 156 years before reverting to Chinese sovereignty under a ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement in July 1997.