Hong Kong recorded a population of 6,921,700 at mid-2007, representing an increase of 64,600, or 0.9 percent, over the same period of last year, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Census and Statistics Department.

The increase comprises a natural increase of 28,800 from mid-2006 to mid-2007 and a net inflow of 35,800 residents from outside Hong Kong, a densely populated special administrative region of China, the Department said in a press release.

The natural increase is obtained by subtracting the death number of 37,400 from the number of the newborns of 66,200. The net movement figure of 35,800 is the difference between the number of inflows and that of outflows.

The inflows of holders of One-way Permit, which had been issued to immigrants from Chinese places other than Hong Kong, numbered 44,700, making them an important constituent of the overall population growth.

Hong Kong has set down a limit of 55,000 a year or under for the number of immigrants from other Chinese regions.

The latest population figure was released on a provisional basis as a routine and would be revised in six months from now.

The previously released provisional figure for Hong Kong population at the end of 2006 was revised to 6,909,500 and the growth rate from end-2005 to end-2006 was revised to one percent.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2007)