Twenty Hong Kong couples have each received baby bonuses totalling HK$60,000 (US$7,700) for having three children in about 2½ years.

Yet less than 60 per cent of the HK$2.28 billion earmarked for the three-year government scheme has been disbursed as of February, with just over six months to go before it ends in October.

Government figures showed the city’s registered birth rate in the first two months of this year dropped by 20 per cent compared with the same period in 2025.

A youth group leader said the decline reflected the growing view among young people that having babies was a source of stress and sacrifice rather than hope and joy.

Only HK$1.31 billion, or 57.5 per cent, of the HK$2.28 billion allocated for the baby bonus scheme had been used as of February, with the three-year scheme set to end this October, according to the Labour and Welfare Bureau.

The scheme, which launched in October 2023, provides a one-off HK$20,000 bonus to eligible parents for newborns. The baby must be born in Hong Kong and at least one parent must be a permanent resident at the time of application.