Up-to-date data on the burden of disease are important to identify patients with unmet needs and to optimize healthcare resources. We aimed to characterize the burden of pneumonia hospitalizations in Hong Kong and inform targeted healthcare policies for pneumonia control in the era of global ageing. Methods: This was a population-based study using a territory-wide administrative electronic health record system that covers all public hospitals of Hong Kong. Patients admitted to public hospitals, from 2011 to 2015, with a diagnosis of pneumonia at discharge were identified based on the International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification codes (480-486 and 487.0). Incidence, inpatient case-fatality, all-cause fatality, 28-days readmission, hospital length of stay, and healthcare costs were assessed for seven age strata. Results: We identified 323,992 patients (median age 80 years, 44.4% female) with hospitalized