But the government data also revealed a new cause for population decline – more residents leaving than arriving.
The figures showed a net outflow of 89,200 Hong Kong residents for the period.
That is more than four times higher than the 20,900 outflow recorded for the same mid-year period in 2020.
In 2018 and 2019, Hong Kong recorded an inflow of 8,500 and 23,000 respectively.
Hong Kong has kept COVID-19 infections low by closing itself off to non-residents for most of the pandemic.
The move has kept people safe but crippled the travel industry and made it difficult for both residents and expats to see loved ones overseas.
Thousands of Hong Kong residents have also packed their bags to escape a broad crackdown on dissent in response to huge and often violent protests two years ago.
Over the spring and summer, the airport witnessed frequent tearful farewells as residents boarded flights, mostly to Britain, which has said it will offer a pathway to citizenship for many Hong Kong residents in response to Beijing’s crackdown.
The Hong Kong government does not keep official statistics for how many have left the city for good, but figures point to some sort of exodus taking place.
Around 1,500 Hong Kong residents on average were leaving via the airport each day in July, up from around 800 in the first half of the year and despite the pandemic throttling international travel.
Early withdrawals from the city’s mandatory pension fund – which can only be made when someone departs permanently – have also soared in the last 12 months.
Hong Kong’s government has repeatedly brushed off the departures, saying many will one day return and those who leave can be replaced with Chinese mainlanders.
Hong Kong previously saw large numbers of residents depart in the run-up to the 1997 handover to China and after Beijing’s deadly 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
However, the overall population did not decline and many returned.