The People of Hong Kong
Most of Hong Kong's population, at least 96 percent, are ethnic Chinese, either born in Hong Kong or having migrated from mainland China during successive periods of political turmoil after the 1949 revolution and during the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. The majority originated from Guangdong province (Canton) to the north of Hong Kong, though many also migrated from Shanghai.
Hong Kong does have a significant expatriate population. In recent years, the largest expatriate group has been nationals of the Philippines, who number around 142,500. Most of them work as domestic helpers and their conditions of stay only allow them to remain in Hong Kong for as long as their employment contract continues.
Since the handover in 1997, a large community of expats remains in Hong Kong, of whom the highest number are not British, as you might expect, but Americans and Canadians. Many Hong Kong Chinese emigrated to North America in the 1990s, only to return with a new passport and pick up their former lives. Non-Chinese residents of Hong Kong cannot become Hong Kong citizens, but after seven years of continuous residence they can acquire the “right to land” and may not be deported from Hong Kong.