Recent news that Hong Kong’s birthrate has fallen to a new low (the lowest in the world) generated debate as to whether that is good or bad for our already overcrowded city.

Certainly, if such a large proportion of our young married couples choose to avoid having children, our population will age faster, and without the strategy of bringing in lots of migrants, the overall population will surely shrink.

But bearing in mind the comparatively restricted area of Hong Kong’s land, on which almost 7.5 million people squeeze themselves to find living space, a drop in the population might solve some of our social problems, while raising new ones.

It is now fashionable to talk of childless families. It seems that any generally accepted notion of what a family is must surely include children. So, childless couples who choose to steer clear of a lifetime’s emotional and financial pressures and sacrifices of bringing up children, also miss out on the undoubted joys of parenthood. Never having grandchildren is another loss to childless couples. It is the life’s mission of most good parents to seek to provide a better life, with more opportunities, to their children than they had themselves. To whom can childless couples pass on any inheritance?

Traditionally, younger Chinese family members are expected to look after their aged parents. But because so many of today’s young married couples have no offspring, they will have no next of kin to care for them once they reach old age. And the comparatively scant returns from our MPF scheme will not nearly suffice to adequately address that need. Wiser childless couples would be well advised to actively save for their future, putting aside the money that would otherwise have gone on child-rearing.

It must be a matter for a lively debate: What would be the optimum population for a city like Hong Kong? In my view, we have already exceeded that, considering our current population in relation to our habitable land area. We are already one of the most densely populated places on the planet, so having fewer of us would not be such a bad thing.

On the other hand, there is surely much that could be done to encourage a growing birthrate, if thought necessary. A “child bonus” of, say, HK$1 million ($127,740) could be paid from this city’s massive government-held reserves to new parents to encourage them to start a family. Better provision of work requirements, such as part-time work and better offerings of maternity and paternity leave, would also help make it easier to remain employed while raising your offspring.

Because of the existing housing pressures, finding a home large enough to comfortably bring up a family here is difficult, while our property costs remain some of the highest in the world. Mind you, a dramatically reduced population would mean much-reduced pressures in the housing market, with consequent lower property costs. If decent, affordable housing becomes more readily available because fewer people need it, we may see the end of those terrible cage homes in subdivided apartments, which have blighted “Asia’s World City” with its enviable financial and economic reputation for far too long.

Fewer traffic jams, fewer demands upon public facilities such as hospitals, less crowded public transport, fewer streets clogged by pedestrians, and smaller school class sizes are some of the numerous positive effects that will come along as our population declines.

But any city needs to have enough residents to at least maintain public facilities. If Hong Kong’s falling birthrate results in a much-reduced population, we will need to learn how best to cope with that shortfall, or instead remedy it by taking in many more guest workers from outside, though that could dramatically change the Hong Kong that we now know.

Of course, other places such as Macao and Singapore face similar population challenges; these issues are by no means unique to Hong Kong. We may study and emulate what they do to manage the problem.

As much of the world is now experiencing the negative effects of global climate change, the United Nations and other global bodies are seeking to address that critical issue; so these same bodies need to address the linked and tricky issues of overpopulation, declining birthrates, and aging populations. These are all global challenges, and we would benefit from global approaches to tackle them.

For a start, perhaps these world bodies can coordinate a carefully thought-out program of encouraging emigration of skilled workers from overpopulated countries to those which cannot maintain their birthrate, and which will hence welcome them. 

The author is a seasoned commentator on Hong Kong social issues.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.