Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Hong Kong, you would:
Economy
be 33.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Hong Kong, 4.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In South Korea, that number is 2.9% as of 2022.
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 22.1% less money
Hong Kong has a GDP per capita of $58,500 as of 2022, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $45,600 as of 2022.
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.
Expenditures
spend 17.5% more on education
Hong Kong spends 4.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. South Korea spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
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.