Hongkongers (), also known as Hong Kongers, Hong Kongese, Hongkongese, Hong Kong citizens and Hong Kong people, typically refers to residents of the territory of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

; although may also refer to others who were born and/or raised in the territory. The earliest inhabitants of Hong Kong are indigenous villagers, who have lived in the area since before British colonization. The majority of Hongkongers today are descended from

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

migrants from mainland China, most of whom are

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

and trace their

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

to the province of

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. However, the territory also holds other

Han Chinese subgroups The subgroups of the Han Chinese people are defined based on linguistic, cultural, ethnic, genetic and regional features. The terminology used in Mandarin to describe the groups is: "minxi" (, pronounced ), used in Mainland China or "zuqun" (, pr ...

including the

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

, Hoklo, Teochew (Chiuchow), Shanghainese,

Sichuanese Sichuanese, Szechuanese or Szechwanese may refer to something of, from, or related to the Chinese province and region of Sichuan (Szechwan/Szechuan) (historically and culturally including Chongqing), especially: *Sichuanese people, a subgroup of the ...

and

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

. Meanwhile, non-Han Chinese Hongkongers such as the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

, Indonesians,

South Asians South Asian ethnic groups are an ethnolinguistic grouping of the diverse populations of South Asia, including the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. While Afghanistan is variously considered to b ...

and

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

also make up six per cent of Hong Kong's population.

Terminology

The terms ''Hongkonger'' and ''Hong Kongese'' are used to denote a

residents of Hong Kong The Hong Kong Basic Law classifies residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region () as either permanent residents or non-permanent residents. Hong Kong residents have rights under the Basic Law including freedom of speech, freedom of ...

, including permanent and non-permanent residents. According to the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

'', the word ''Hongkonger'' first appeared in the English language in an 1870 edition of ''The Daily Independent'', an American-based newspaper. In March 2014, both the terms ''Hongkonger'' and ''Hong Kongese'' were added to the ''Oxford English Dictionary''. In contrast, the '' Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' of

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...

adopts the form ''Hong Konger'' instead. The form ''Hong Konger'' also seems to be preferred by governments around the world. In 2008, the

U.S. Government Publishing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...

decided to include ''Hong Konger'' as a demonym for Hong Kong in its official ''

Style Manual A style guide or manual of style is a set of standards for the writing, formatting, and design of documents. It is often called a style sheet, although that term also has multiple other meanings. The standards can be applied either for gene ...

''. The

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are in ...

of the

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

similarly added ''Hong Konger'' to its standard list of nationalities in September 2020. The aforementioned terms all translate to the same term in

, 香港人 (). The direct translation of this is ''Hong Kong person''. During the British colonial era, terms like ''Hong Kong Chinese'' and '' Hong Kong Britons'' were used to distinguish the British and Chinese populations that lived in the city.

Residency status

The term ''Hongkongers'' most often refers to legal residents of Hong Kong, as recognised under

Hong Kong Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ...

. Hong Kong Basic Law gives a precise legal definition of a Hong Kong resident. Under Article 24 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong residents can be further classified as permanent or non-permanent residents. Non-permanent residents are those who have the right to hold a Hong Kong Identity Card, but have no right of abode in Hong Kong, right to abode in Hong Kong. Permanent residents are those who have the right to hold a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card as well as the right of abode. The Basic Law allows residents to acquire right of abode by birth in Hong Kong, or in some Hong Kong immigration policy, other ways. For example, residents of China may settle in Hong Kong for family reunification purposes if they obtain a one-way permit (for which there may be a waiting time of several years). Formally speaking, Hong Kong does not confer its own citizenship, although the term ''Hong Kong citizen'' is used colloquially to refer to permanent residents of the city. Hong Kong does not require applicants for naturalisation to take a language test to become a permanent resident. However, Hong Kong migrants and residents are assumed to understand their obligation under Article 24 of the

to abide by the laws of Hong Kong.

Diaspora

Mainland China holds the largest number of Hong Kong expatriates, although the Hong Kong diaspora can also be found in Taiwan and several English-speaking countries. Most Hongkongers living outside of Greater China form a part of the larger overseas Chinese community. The migration of Hongkongers to other parts of the world accelerated in the years prior to the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, although a significant percentage Hong Kong returnee, returned. Another emigration wave occurred after the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests and the United Kingdom's enactment of the British National (Overseas) passport, BNO visa scheme.

Ethnicity and background

According to Hong Kong's 2016 census, 92 per cent of its population is Chinese peoples, ethnically Chinese, with 32.1 per cent having been born in Mainland China, Taiwan or Macau. Historically, many Chinese people have migrated from areas such as Guangdong, Canton to Hong Kong, for example in the 1850s–60s as a result of the Taiping RebellionJohn Thomson 1837–192
Chap on Hong Kong
, Illustrations of China and Its People (London,1873–1874) and in the 1940s prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Thus, immigrants from Guangdong and their descendants have long constituted the majority of the ethnic Chinese residents of Hong Kong, which accounts for the city's broad Cantonese culture. The Cantonese, Cantonese language, a form of Yue Chinese, is the primary language of Hong Kong and that used in the media and education. For that reason, while there are groups with ancestral roots in more distant parts of China such as Shanghai and Shandong, as well as members of other Han Chinese subgroups such as

, Hoklo people, Hokkien, and Teochew, residents who are Hong Kong-born and/or raised often assimilate into the mainstream Cantonese identity of Hong Kong and typically adopt Cantonese as their first language.

Ethnic minorities

In addition to the Han Chinese majority, Hong Kong's minority population also comprises many other different ethnic and national groups, with the largest non-Chinese groups being

(1.9 per cent) and Indonesians (also 1.9 per cent). There are long-established South Asians in Hong Kong, South Asian communities, which comprise both descendants of 19th and early 20th-century migrants as well as more recent short-term expatriates. South Asians include Indians in Hong Kong, Indian, Pakistanis in Hong Kong, Pakistani, and Nepalis in Hong Kong, Nepalese, who respectively made up 0.4 per cent, 0.3 per cent, and 0.2 per cent of Hong Kong's population in 2011. Smaller groups include Americans in Hong Kong, Americans, Britons in Hong Kong, Britons, Canadians in Hong Kong, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Japanese in Hong Kong, Japanese, Koreans in Hong Kong, Koreans, Russians in Hong Kong, Russians,

and Thais in Hong Kong, Thais. In 2011, 0.8 per cent of Hong Kong's population were European, many (53.5 per cent) of whom resided on Hong Kong Island, where they constitute 2.3 per cent of the population. *Hong Kong includes:：Indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories, Tanka people, Hakka people *Guangzhou and Macau includes: Humen, Xinhui#Gujing, Cixi, Zhongshan, Hua County, Wanshan Archipelago, Nanhai District, Nanhai, Bao'an County, Panyu District, Panyu, Sanshui District, Sanshui, Shenzhen, Shilong, Guangdong, Shilong Shunde District, Shunde, Dapeng New District, Dapeng, Zengcheng District, Zengcheng, Conghua District, Conghua, Dongguan, Huiyang District, Huiyang *Sze Yap incldes：Kaiping, Heshan, Guangdong, Heshan, Jiangmen, Xinhui, Taishan, Guangdong, Taishan, Enping *Chaozhou includes: Shantou, Chenghai District, Chenghai, Chao'an District, Chao'an, Chaoyang District, Shantou, Chaoyang, Fengshun County, Fengshun, Jieyang, Nan%27ao County, Nan'ao District, Nanshan , Puning, Huilai County, Huilai, Raoping County, Raoping *Other places in Guangdong include: Hainan administrative region and other places。

Languages

Religion

Cultural identity

Hong Kong culture is primarily a mix of Chinese culture, Chinese and Western culture, Western influences, stemming from Lingnan

roots and later fusing with British culture due to British British Empire, colonialism (Jyutping: ; Traditional Chinese: 粵英薈萃). From 26 January 1841 to 30 June 1997, Hong Kong was formally a British Overseas Territory, British Dependent Territory. English was introduced as an official language of Hong Kong during British Hong Kong, British colonial rule, alongside the indigenous Chinese language, notably

. While it was an overseas territory, Hong Kong participated in a variety of organisations from the Commonwealth Family network. Hong Kong ended its participation with most Commonwealth Family organisations after the handover of Hong Kong in 1997; although still participates in the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association. Moreover, Hong Kong also has Indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories (Hong Kong), indigenous people and ethnic minority, ethnic minorities from South Asia, South and Southeast Asia, whose cultures all play integral parts in modern day Hong Kong culture. As a result, after the 1997 Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong, transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong has continued to develop a unique identity under the rubric of One Country Two Systems.Lilley, Rozanna. [1998] (1998) Staging Hong Kong: Gender and Performance in Transition. University of Hawaii. After the handover of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong surveyed Hong Kong residents about how they defined themselves. In its latest poll published in June 2022, 39.1% of respondents identified as Hong Konger, 31.4% as Hong Konger in China, 17.6% as Chinese, 10.9% as Chinese in Hong Kong, and 42.4% as mixed identity.

2020 Nobel Peace Prize nomination

On 15 October 2019, Norwegian lawmaker Guri Melby announced that she nominated the people of Hong Kong "who risk their lives and security every day to stand up for freedom of speech and basic democracy" for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020. Several months later, on 8 February 2020, eight U.S. lawmakers nominated the pro-democracy movement of Hong Kong to receive the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their efforts to protect Hong Kong’s autonomy, human rights, and the rule of law as guaranteed in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, Sino-British Declaration and Hong Kong’s Hong Kong Basic Law, Basic Law. However, on 27 August 2020, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (politician), Wang Yi cautioned against awarding the prize to Hong Kong protesters.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hongkongers Demographics of Hong Kong Ethnic groups in Hong Kong Hong Kong society