Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Hong Kong instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
live 2.6 years longer
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 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 22.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Hong Kong, that number is 2.8% as of 2025.
be 2.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Hong Kong, however, that number is 19.9% as of 2016.
make 42.0% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Hong Kong, the GDP per capita is $56,983 as of 2025.
Life
be 21.4% more likely to die during infancy
In Iceland, approximately 2.1 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 56.2% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 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 47.9% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Hong Kong spends 3.8% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 85.3% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Hong Kong, that number is 733 km.
Safety
be 70.5% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Hong Kong, that number is 0.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
use 87.0% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Hong Kong uses 6,359 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 46.0% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Hong Kong emits 4.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), The World Factbook (2016–2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. Hong Kong
Hong Kong: At a glance
How big is Hong Kong compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.