Ageing of HK population a social burden

The population of Hong Kong is ageing. The median age of the population increased from 30.4 in 1989 to 36.2 last year. Two major factors contributed to the change.

On one hand, there was a continuing decline in fertility. On the other hand, there was substantial improvement in the mortality trend due to better provision of medical services and greater health consciousness among the public.

As a result, the proportion of children aged below 15 in the population decreased from 21.8 per cent in 1989 to 16.9 per cent last year. On the other hand, the proportion of the elderly aged 65 and over increased from 8.2 per cent to 10.7 per cent.

Another indicator of the ageing of the population is the increase in the elderly dependency ratio, which relates the number of people aged 65 and over to every 1,000 people aged between 15 and 64. The elderly dependency ration increased from 119 in 1989 to 148 last year.

The elderly dependency ratio indicates the broad relationship between the number of those who are responsible for providing support in society and those who depend on them for medical services and daily care. The increase in the ratio imposes greater demand on the provision of social services, in particular, medical and elderly care services.

The Government took a major step forward in 1995 to help members of the labour force provide financial benefits for their retirement by enacting the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes Ordinance. The ordi nance provides a framework for the establishment of a formal, privately managed and employment-related MPF system.