They include Hong Kong Permanent Residents, Hong Kong Non-permanent Residents and visitors. Also, a considerable number of Hong Kong residents are overseas for work, touring or studies. But strictly speaking, visitors are not part of the Hong Kong Population. The existing compilation method makes use of the difference between the number of arrivals and the number of departures. The main reason is that the compilation procedure is simple and the required data are easier to obtain.
Notable examples are USA, Canada, UK, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
Hong Kong should also follow this international trend. Its previous non-application was mainly due to limitations of insufficient data. The computational capabilities of computers now available have enhanced significantly. In doing so, Hong Kong will get closer to other advanced economies in terms of statistical practice. In this regard, they should be considered part of the Hong Kong Population.