Quality of life comparison
If you lived in China instead of Hong Kong, you would:
Health
live 7.4 years less
In Hong Kong, the average life expectancy is 85 years (83 years for men, 88 years for women) as of 2024. In China, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
be 65.0% more likely to be unemployed
In Hong Kong, 2.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.
make 75.7% less money
Hong Kong has a GDP per capita of $56,983 as of 2025, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.
Life
have 38.2% more children
In Hong Kong, there are approximately 4.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In China, there are 6.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 60.8% more likely to die during infancy
In Hong Kong, approximately 2.5 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In China, on the other hand, 4.1 children do as of 2024.
Geography
see 19.8 times more coastline
Hong Kong has a total of 733 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.
Safety
be 31.6% more likely to be murdered
Hong Kong has a homicide rate of 0.4 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In China, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2020.
Infrastructure
find 17.2% more home broadband
Hong Kong has 40.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. China has 47.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 2.0 times more CO2
Hong Kong emits 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. China emits 9.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Hong Kong vs. China
China: At a glance
How big is China compared to Hong Kong? See an in-depth size comparison.