Hong Kong’s low fertility rate is an opportunity rather than a challenge and gives the city a chance to become a global leader in building a child-friendly environment, a former UN resident coordinator in China has said.
Siddharth Chatterjee, who held the role from 2021 until March this year, said Hong Kong could create a “pioneering blueprint” for others to follow if it could earn the status of a “Child Friendly City” under a UN initiative.
While most developing countries and territories are grappling with declining fertility rates, Hong Kong has one of the lowest in the world.
Hong Kong recorded just 0.73 births per woman in 2025, with UN data showing the city had the second-lowest fertility rate among 236 jurisdictions, behind only Macau.
Despite government support measures to incentivise families to have children, Hong Kong recorded fewer than 30,000 births in a year for the first time on record, according to its midyear population update published earlier in August.
But in an interview with the South China Morning Post, Chatterjee, who now serves as an honorary adviser to the Hong Kong Committee for Unicef, said those very challenges could make the city a “model” for others to follow.