Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Hong Kong instead of Iraq, you would:

Health

live 10.4 years longer

In Iraq, the average life expectancy is 73 years (71 years for men, 75 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 5.1 times more money

Iraq has a GDP per capita of $12,600 as of 2023, while in Hong Kong, the GDP per capita is $64,400 as of 2023.

be 74.7% less likely to be unemployed

In Iraq, 15.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Hong Kong, that number is 3.9% as of 2023.

be 13.5% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Iraq, 23.0% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Hong Kong, however, that number is 19.9% as of 2016.

Life

be 87.0% less likely to die during infancy

In Iraq, approximately 19.6 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 67.9% fewer children

In Iraq, there are approximately 23.7 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 89.8% more likely to have internet access

In Iraq, approximately 49.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Hong Kong, about 93.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 14.9% less on education

Iraq spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2016. Hong Kong spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 12.6 times more coastline

Iraq has a total of 58 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 Iraq? See an in-depth size comparison.

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