Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 8.2
Contrasting attributes, among Hong Kong-born, of returnees to Hong Kong and,
stayers in Canada
Returnees from
Canada %
Stayers in
Canada %
Age
0-19
9.4
21.7
20-29
37.5
18.3
30-39
21.5
25.1
40-49
14.9
23.4
50-59
8.5
5.9
60+
8.1
5.6
Education
Primary school or less
9.2
6.4
Secondary school and diploma
40.3
68.2
Local university degree
15.3
{
25.2
Overseas university degree
35.2
Earnings (CADS annual)
Under $13,820
5.1
45.7
Over $69,100
22.8
4.9
Mean
$53,700
$23,570
Source
: DeVoretz, Ma and Zhang (2002) from the Census of Hong Kong and the
Census of Canada
education, a rate five times higher than the population at large. Almost
60 percent of the population were in their 20s or 30s, with children and
the elderly heavily under-represented. The profile is unmistakably one of
migration that follows university education to take advantage of the cultural
capital of a western degree (Waters 2005, 2006). Among respondents,
35 percent were arriving from Canada, by far the leading destination.
A very similar profile emerged from a special tabulation of the 2001 Hong
Kong Census, which helpfully compared Hong Kong-born returnees with
stayers in Canada, data on the latter derived from a sample in the Canadian
Census micro-data files (DeVoretz et al. 2002, Table 8.2). With almost
60 percent of the returnees from Canada in their twenties or thirties, there
was marked contrast with a more middle-aged population of stayers in
Canada that also included a higher proportion of children.
7
Returnees had
a much higher level of university education than stayers, with 35 percent
holding an overseas degree. Occupationally, there was a concentration
of returnees in assistant professional fields, indicative of the early stages of
