Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Hong Kong instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

live 4.0 years longer

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Hong Kong, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 2.6 times more money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $22,100 as of 2022, while in Hong Kong, the GDP per capita is $58,500 as of 2022.

be 61.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 11.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Hong Kong, that number is 4.3% as of 2022.

be 22.0% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 25.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Hong Kong, however, that number is 19.9% as of 2016.

Life

be 69.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Costa Rica, approximately 8.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Hong Kong, on the other hand, 2.5 children do as of 2022.

have 29.6% fewer children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Hong Kong, there are 7.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 12.0% more likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Hong Kong, about 93.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 40.3% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Hong Kong spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 43.2% less coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Hong Kong, that number is 733 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Hong Kong: At a glance

Hong Kong (sometimes abbreviated HK) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 1,073 sq km. Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the subsequent 50 years.
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How big is Hong Kong compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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