The population of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) rose to 7,008,900 at the end of 2008, topping 7 million for the first time, Xinhua quoted the HKSAR government as reporting. The provisional figure represented a year-on-year growth of 0.8 percent, or 56,100 more people than in late 2007, the Census and Statistics Department said in a statement. The department attributed the rise to a natural increase of 37,400 and a net movement of 18,700 residents. There were 78,700 babies born in the city in 2008 to Hong Kong and non-Hong Kong residents. Local media reports said half of the babies were born to non-Hong Kong residents. Among the total population, 6,790,200 were usual residents and 218,700 were mobile residents.
