Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Hong Kong instead of Malaysia, you would:
Health
live 8.6 years longer
In Malaysia, the average life expectancy is 77 years (74 years for men, 80 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 25.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Malaysia, 3.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Hong Kong, that number is 2.8% as of 2025.
make 4.3 times more money
Malaysia has a GDP per capita of $13,125 as of 2025, while in Hong Kong, the GDP per capita is $56,983 as of 2025.
Life
be 63.6% less likely to die during infancy
In Malaysia, approximately 7.0 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 60.4% fewer children
In Malaysia, there are approximately 12.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Hong Kong, there are 4.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Geography
see 84.3% less coastline
Malaysia has a total of 4,675 km of coastline. In Hong Kong, that number is 733 km.
Safety
be 47.9% less likely to be murdered
Malaysia has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Hong Kong, that number is 0.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 3.0 times more home broadband
Malaysia has 13.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Hong Kong has 40.3 as of 2024.
use 25.1% more electricity
Malaysia uses 5,084 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Hong Kong uses 6,359 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 44.7% less CO2
Malaysia emits 8.3 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: Malaysia vs. Hong Kong
Hong Kong: At a glance
How big is Hong Kong compared to Malaysia? See an in-depth size comparison.