Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Hong Kong, you would:
Economy
be 27.6% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Hong Kong, 19.9% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
make 24.7% less money
Hong Kong has a GDP per capita of $56,200 as of 2020, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $42,300 as of 2020.
be 28.3% more likely to be unemployed
In Hong Kong, 2.9% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In South Korea, that number is 3.8% as of 2019.
pay a 2.5 times higher top tax rate
Hong Kong has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In South Korea, the top tax rate is 38.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 12.5% 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 South Korea, on the other hand, 2.9 children do as of 2022.
have 13.9% fewer children
In Hong Kong, there are approximately 8.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Korea, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Geography
see 3.3 times more coastline
Hong Kong has a total of 733 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, National Tax Service, South Korea, Inland Revenue Department, Hong Kong.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Hong Kong? See an in-depth size comparison.