Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong on Dec 15, 2014. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)

HONG KONG - The population of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has increased by 0.9 percent to over 7.48 million as of the end of 2018, the HKSAR government's statistics department announced Tuesday.

The natural increase of the population from end-2017 to end-2018 amounted to 6,700, with 53,700 births and 47,000 deaths

According to statistics released by the Census and Statistics Department, the provisional estimate of the Hong Kong population was 7,482,500 at the end of 2018, representing an increase of 69,400 from the number at the end of 2017.

The natural increase of the population from end-2017 to end-2018 amounted to 6,700, with 53,700 births and 47,000 deaths.

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Over the same period, there was a net movement of 62,700 persons, of which 42,300 were inflow of one-way permit holders from the mainland. 

The Hong Kong population is measured on the definition of resident population, which comprises usual residents and mobile residents. Among the total population at end-2018, 7,249,400 were usual residents and 233,100 were mobile residents.

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Under the department's current practice, the latest population figure is released on a provisional basis in each round and the revised figure will be released six months later. The corresponding revised figure for the provisional population figure for end-2018 will be released in August 2019.