Number of rough sleepers in Hong Kong remains double the government estimate, experts say
Welfare organisations suggest about 1,600 people are sleeping on city’s streets
The number of homeless people in Hong Kong remains double the figure released by the government, according to community organisations and academics.
There were 1,614 street sleepers without a stable or permanent home in 2015, according to a study by City University and collaborators titled the Homeless Outreach Population Estimation. The figure represents a 14 per cent increase from the previous year, when it stood at 1,414.
But in the Social Welfare Department’s online database of the number of rough sleepers, which it updates monthly, the number of registered homeless was 874 in the 2015-16 financial year.
The discrepancy has long raised concerns about how the government collates its figures.
