Hong Kong baby bonus scheme needs rethink to focus on systemic issues


Source: scmp.com scmp.com
Key Topics in this News Article:
News Snapshot:

This suggests financial incentives alone cannot overcome perceived social, economic and cultural obstacles to parenthood. The broader trend remains declining fertility, with only 31,100 registered births in 2025 compared with official predictions that they could rise from about 32,500 in 2022 to around 39,000 a year. Registered births in the first two months of 2026 were down 21 per cent year on year. Surveys of young people are revealing. One survey involving 1,100 people aged 13 to 29, released last year by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, found that only 38 per cent expressed interest in having children,…