Hong Kong to exempt 90% of households from ‘re-engineered’ 2026 census
Authorities will use a different method to track the city’s demographics in a major break from decades of statistical tradition
Hong Kong authorities will exempt 90 per cent of households from a population census next year, opting instead for a “re-engineered” model that uses existing data to track the city’s demographics – a major break from decades of statistical tradition.
Commissioner for Census and Statistics Leo Yu Chun-keung said on Friday that the 2026 population census had been revamped to improve workflow while saving on manpower.
“To modernise the mode of Hong Kong’s population census, we will implement several re-engineering initiatives with a view to streamlining and improving workflows,” he said.
Under the new framework, the Census and Statistics Department will use administrative data, ranging from immigration entry permits to birth records, to calculate population benchmarks in the 2026 exercise, replacing the “short-form” questionnaire in the full census from 2031.
Detailed inquiries will be limited to a random sample of just 10 per cent of households every five years.
“The remaining 90 per cent of households will not be required to fill out any questionnaire,” Yu said.