The population in the city totalled 643,100 as at the end of September, a slight increase of 200 compared to the end of June this year due to fewer non-resident workers dwelling in the territory in the past quarter, according to the latest data released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) yesterday. During the third quarter of the year, the total number of non-residents increased just 0.1 per cent to 180,751 quarter-on-quarter, or 228 persons, as the number of working permits granted to foreign labour dropped 11.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 24,106 from 27,156, while 10.8 per cent more workers had their working documents terminated from the second quarter, some 23,878. According to DSEC, 64.6 per cent of the city’s non-resident workers were from Mainland China as at the end of September, while 13.2 per cent and 8 per cent came from the Philippines and Vietnam, respectively. Meanwhile, the government granted right of abode to 405 individuals during the quarter, which is an increase of 5.2 per cent from 385 in the second quarter of the year. However, the right of abode of some 357 individuals was annulled during the period, jumping 123.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter. In addition, the number of Chinese immigrants in the Special Administrative Region registered a quarter-on-quarter increase of 19 per cent to 1,982, compared to 1,666 in the previous period. The official data also indicates that 1,819 live births were delivered during the quarter, an increase of 9.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter. The sex ratio at birth for the period stood at 107.4, for 107.4 male babies per 100 female babies. For the total population, females accounted for 50.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of mortality cases totalled 490 in the three months. According to DSEC, the top three underlying causes of death were neoplasms, diseases of the circulatory system and diseases of the respiratory system, which killed 188, 107 and 80 in the quarter, respectively.
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