Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Hong Kong instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 4.4 years longer
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Hong Kong, that number is 85 years (83 years for men, 88 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
be 59.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Hong Kong, that number is 2.8% as of 2025.
make 2.9 times more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Hong Kong, the GDP per capita is $56,983 as of 2025.
Life
be 72.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Costa Rica, approximately 9.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Hong Kong, on the other hand, 2.5 children do as of 2022.
have 51.0% fewer children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Hong Kong, there are 4.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 28.2% less on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Hong Kong spends 3.8% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
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.
Safety
be 97.9% less likely to be murdered
Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Hong Kong, that number is 0.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 72.9% more home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Hong Kong has 40.3 as of 2024.
use 2.8 times more electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Hong Kong uses 6,359 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 2.8 times more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Hong Kong emits 4.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2023–2025), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Hong Kong
Hong Kong: At a glance
How big is Hong Kong compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.