The expected lifespan of Hong Kong people has grown from 72.3 years to 79.4 for men and 78.5 to 85.5 for women in the last 25 years according to the Census & Statistics Department's Demographic Trends in Hong Kong 1981-2006 report published today.

The department said the rise was due to the continuous fall in mortality rates. Hong Kong's population has grown at an average annual rate of 1.1%, from 5.18 million in 1981 to 6.86 million in 2006.

The population's median age has grown from 26.3 years in 1981 to 39.6 in 2006. The total fertility rate has fallen by nearly half, from 1,933 births per 1,000 women in 1981 to 984 last year.

The median age at first marriage last year was 31 for bridegrooms and 28 for brides, while the figures were 27 and 24 in 1981. There were 17,424 divorce decrees granted last year compared to 2,060 in 1981.