Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Hong Kong instead of North Korea, you would:

Health

live 11.8 years longer

In North Korea, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 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 34.4 times more money

North Korea has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2015, while in Hong Kong, the GDP per capita is $58,500 as of 2022.

be 40.7% more likely to be unemployed

In North Korea, 3.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Hong Kong, that number is 4.3% as of 2022.

Life

be 88.5% less likely to die during infancy

In North Korea, approximately 22.2 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 42.4% fewer children

In North Korea, there are approximately 13.2 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 90.1% more likely to have access to electricity

In North Korea, approximately 53% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Hong Kong, 100% of the population do as of 2021.

Geography

see 70.6% less coastline

North Korea has a total of 2,495 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 North Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.

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