Hong Kong's population fell by 68,300 or 0.9 percent last year, according to a government estimate on Thursday, as tens of thousands left the city and the number of births fell to a record low.

Provisional figures by the Census and Statistics Department showed that the SAR's population slid from 7,401,500 in 2021 to 7,333,200 in 2022, the third annual decline in a row.

Officials said 21,200 one-way permit holders came to the territory, but 60,000 Hong Kong residents left, resulting in a net outflow of 38,800.

A government spokesperson said the Covid pandemic is believed to have had a negative impact on the arrival of new talent, but there was a slight rebound in the number of people coming to Hong Kong near the end of the year following the scrapping of some Covid restrictions.

"We noticed that the population decrease in the second half of 2022 has narrowed when compared to that in the first half, reflecting that movement of the Hong Kong population has begun to resume normal gradually," the spokesperson said.

"Relevant factors which had affected talent inflow would dissipate gradually when the society and economy of Hong Kong further return to normalcy amidst Hong Kong's resumption of normal travel with the mainland and other places around the world."

Paul Yip, a population expert from the University of Hong Kong, said the number of people leaving the city appears to have peaked, but the government must still work hard to attract and retain talent.

"The signs look a bit promising, at least the outflow is not as fast as before, but I am not quite sure that the trend can be reversed immediately," he told RTHK.

"I think it really depends on the performances of the Hong Kong government and also the situation as a whole, whether we make Hong Kong as a liveable city for Hong Kong residents, [so that] they are not leaving, as many as they were, and also we would be able to attract the foreign talent."

A widening natural decrease – with more deaths than births – was another reason behind the drop in population.

Just 32,500 babies were born last year, down from 52,900 in 2019.

"The situation is not going to reverse, which makes the ageing situation more acute. It also has impacts in the workforce of the Hong Kong population. The [old-age] dependency ratio will increase even larger and faster," Yip said.

The number of deaths, meanwhile, rose to 62,100 last year, from 49,000 in 2019, with the fifth Covid wave in 2022 taking a heavy toll.