Hong Kong’s Kindergarten Listings Fell by About 40. The Closure Count Is Different.

Hong Kong’s new kindergarten directory lists about 930 schools and childcare centres, down from about 970 in last year’s edition. That is roughly 40 fewer listings in a year, as the number of babies born in the city continues to fall.

The Education Bureau published the 2026/27 profiles on October 15. Its previous directory listed about 970 institutions for 2025/26; the latest lists about 930. The figures are rounded, so they do not establish that exactly 40 schools shut their doors.

Two ways of counting

A separate bureau tally makes the distinction important. In a response to on.cc, the bureau said 32 kindergartens ceased operating in 2025/26 and nine new ones registered. That is a net loss of 23 by those measures, not 40. The published accounts do not reconcile that figure with the change between the two directories. They may use different cut-off dates or definitions, but no explanation has been established.

For the current school year, the bureau told on.cc that, as of the end of September, two kindergartens were due to close during or at the end of the year. One new school had registered and five had applied. The bureau described kindergartens as privately operated and said their number adjusts as the student population changes.

The smaller cohort behind the figures

There were 29,700 births in the 12 months from mid-2025 to mid-2026, according to provisional Census and Statistics Department figures. That was 5,500 fewer than in the preceding 12-month period. Hong Kong’s overall population nevertheless rose to 7,518,300 at mid-2026: a net inflow of 39,800 residents outweighed a natural decrease of 20,400.

Fewer births now mean a smaller pool of prospective kindergarten pupils in the years ahead, though the number enrolled at any school also depends on where families live and which schools they choose. Education-sector lawmaker Tang Fei told on.cc that the closures would be difficult to halt while births kept falling. He called for a review of approvals for new kindergartens in areas where existing schools are short of pupils.

The bureau said it has encouraged operators to consider sharing resources and merging schools. It has also made relocation grants a standing measure since 2024/25, intended to help schools move from ageing districts or expensive rented premises to areas with greater demand or lower costs.

The government’s 2026 Policy Address extended the HK$20,000 newborn bonus for three years and raised it to HK$30,000 for second and later children born from September 16. Those measures may affect families’ choices, but they cannot change the number of children already approaching kindergarten age.