“When the young people left, they also took their fertility to other places,” the University of Hong Kong (HKU) professor said. “We are very likely to fall into a low-fertility trap and have little chance of escaping it.”

Britain’s Office for National Statistics told the Post the number of newborn babies with at least one parent from Hong Kong rose from 1,568 in 2019 to 1,602 in 2020, 1,665 in 2021 and 1,953 last year.

It said the figures were for England and Wales, the two most popular UK destinations for people from Hong Kong. Scotland and Northern Ireland record their own statistics.

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The British scheme allows successful applicants and their dependants to live, work and study in the UK for up to five years, after which they can apply for citizenship.

Between January 2021 and June this year, 176,407 Hong Kong applications were approved, a 97 per cent success rate.

As Hongkongers had more babies in England and Wales, the number of births in the city nosedived from 52,900 in 2019 to 43,000 in 2020, 37,000 in 2021 and only 32,500 last year – a decline of almost 40 per cent over four years.

The total fertility rate, the number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime, also fell to 0.8, the lowest in the world. The rate should be 2.1 for a population to replace itself.

Yip, who is chair professor in population health at HKU’s department of social work and social administration, said Hong Kong’s low birth rate was the result of “a basket of reasons”.

He urged the government to give baby bonuses and provide families with more childcare support, and emphasised the need to improve the education system.

“Many people left because they did not like Hong Kong’s education system, syllabus contents and exam-oriented approach,” he said.

Isabella Chiu*, 35, who gave birth to a baby girl in March in London, said she decided to leave Hong Kong as soon as she learned last year that she was pregnant.

“I could not let my child be educated in Hong Kong, where the focus is now on patriotism,” said the aviation consultant, whose husband works in finance.

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She applied for the BNO visa and left for London first, as her husband needed more time to settle matters.

She did not spend a penny on check-ups before and after birth, or even when she was admitted to have her baby, under the UK’s National Health Service.

Maternity and paternity leave in the UK were also a plus, Chiu said.

Women in the UK are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, compared with only 14 weeks in Hong Kong, and husbands or partners have up to two weeks of paternity leave compared with five days in the city.

Chiu said she also liked how people offered seats on public transport to those in need in the UK as that created a friendly atmosphere for pregnant women.

“Sometimes when you wear a coat, others will not notice you are pregnant. But in London, you can apply for a badge to show you are pregnant and everyone is willing to give up their seats to you,” she said.

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Chiu said health visitors dropped in on new parents, offered postnatal care for mothers and babies, and checked if the home environment was safe enough to raise a child.

She added that was better than going to clinics and having to wait.

But Chiu said childcare was expensive in the UK, with full-day nursery costing HK$10,000 (US$1,278) to HK$20,000 a month, which often meant one parent had to give up work to look after the baby instead.

She said, however, that things were easier for her as she and her husband could work remotely, so they could be home with their baby.

*Name changed at interviewee’s request.