August 16, 2023
HONG KONG – Hong Kong people are having less children, and sex, while the average number of children per couple in Hong Kong has fallen to a record low of 0.9, according to a twice-a-decade survey released on Tuesday.
The survey also found that childless couples have replaced one-child families as the predominant family structure, with its proportion doubling over the past five years.
Data also showed that the proportion of both females and males preferring to be childless surging by around 150 percent, rising from approximately 8 percent for both groups in 2017 to 22.7 percent for women and 20.1 percent for men in 2022
The survey found that couples polled say they have sex 3.1 times each month, down from 3.7 times in 2017 and 4.3 times in 2012. The number of couples expressing satisfaction with their sex lives has dropped from about 70 percent in 2017 to slightly over half in 2022. A similar decrease was recorded in the state of marriages.
The result of the Family Planning Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Hong Kong Survey, which has been conducted every five years since 1967, came on the day that the special administrative region government revealed the latest mid-year population estate, which showed that the city saw the birth of 32,600 people and an influx of 174,000 people from outside the city. The 2022 mid-year population estimate showed the city would have 35,100 newly born babies. However, according to a report released by the United Nations Population Fund in April, Hong Kong’s birth rate hit a record-low of 0.8, becoming the world’s lowest.
The Family Planning Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Hong Kong Survey was conducted by the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (FPAHK), a local non-profit organization providing education and counseling services in sexual and reproductive health for the community.
FPAHK monitors trends in family planning and associated topics among married and cohabitating couples in Hong Kong through this ongoing research initiative. Now in its twelfth iteration, the 2022 survey collected data from 1,502 married or cohabitating women aged 15 to 49, as well as 1,052 of their spouses or partners, between September and December 2022.
According to the survey, the proportion of women without children in Hong Kong more than doubled from 20.6 percent in 2017 to 43.2 percent in 2022.
The proportion of women with one or two children declined by approximately 10 percent each over this period to 27.4 percent and 25.2 percent, respectively.
Data also showed that the proportion of both females and males preferring to be childless surging by around 150 percent, rising from approximately 8 percent for both groups in 2017 to 22.7 percent for women and 20.1 percent for men in 2022.
The percentage of women who have already had children but still want to give birth grew from 15.3 percent in 2017 to 22 percent.
Regarding marriage and sex, contraceptive use among women declined from 66.7 percent in 2017 to 57.3 percent in 2022.
Those who were satisfied or highly satisfied with their sex lives dropped to barely over half in 2022 from about 70 percent in 2017 whereas those unsatisfied or highly unsatisfied rose to about 11 percent from about 2 percent.
Similarly, those who were satisfied or highly satisfied with their marriages fell more than 10 percentage points to about 70 percent in 2022 from about 80 percent in 2017 among both wives and husbands.
According to data collected, “work stresses”, “sharing the same room with children” and a “crowded living space” were the biggest detrimental factors affecting their sex lives.