Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Economy

make 27.3% more money

South Korea has a GDP per capita of $50,600 as of 2023, while in Hong Kong, the GDP per capita is $64,400 as of 2023.

pay a 60.5% lower top tax rate

South Korea has a top tax rate of 38.0% as of 2016. In Hong Kong, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.

be 48.9% more likely to be unemployed

In South Korea, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Hong Kong, that number is 3.9% as of 2023.

be 38.2% more likely to live below the poverty line

In South Korea, 14.4% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Hong Kong, however, that number is 19.9% as of 2016.

Life

be 11.1% less likely to die during infancy

In South Korea, approximately 2.9 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.

Expenditures

spend 14.9% less on education

South Korea spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Hong Kong spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 69.6% less coastline

South Korea has a total of 2,413 km of coastline. In Hong Kong, that number is 733 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, National Tax Service, South Korea, Inland Revenue Department, Hong Kong.

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 South Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.

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