A population policy expert on Sunday warned that Hong Kong's low fertility rate could keep dropping in the next few years, unless there is a drastic uptick in marriages.

The latest government estimate showed that the average number of children per woman would rise from 0.7 recorded in 2021 to over 0.9 in 2026 – a prediction that Paul Yip from the University of Hong Kong said was too optimistic.

"We [would] at least need 10,000 more babies per year. And where do these 10,000 babies come from? They don't just fall from the sky," he told a Commercial Radio programme.

"Unless the current [marriage] situation changes drastically, the figure could drop to 0.6 in the next five, six years."

Yip pointed out that in Western countries, each family will have at least one child on average. He explained it was partly due to their success in attracting young people from other countries to move there.

"The reason why other countries have been so willing to attract Hong Kong youths there in the past two to three years is actually for their own population development. But Hong Kong has to work harder on this front," he said.

"Giving birth is an individual decision. But if these decisions are leading the whole society to an unhealthy development, the government must step in."

Yip urged authorities to work towards making the city more family-friendly as soon as possible, and attract more young people from overseas to stay in the SAR.