Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Hong Kong instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
live 23.4 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 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 11.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Hong Kong, that number is 2.8% as of 2025.
be 65.0% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Hong Kong, however, that number is 19.9% as of 2016.
make 67.3 times more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Hong Kong, the GDP per capita is $56,983 as of 2025.
Life
be 95.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Sierra Leone, approximately 54.6 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 83.7% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Hong Kong, there are 4.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 2.8 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Sierra Leone, approximately 36% of people have electricity access (56% in urban areas, and 19% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Hong Kong, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 3.8 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Hong Kong, about 95.8% do as of 2024.
be 46.9% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Sierra Leone, approximately 68% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Hong Kong, 100% of people do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 45.4% more on education
Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Hong Kong spends 3.8% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 82.3% more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Hong Kong, that number is 733 km.
Safety
be 82.9% less likely to be murdered
Sierra Leone has a homicide rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Hong Kong, that number is 0.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Environment
emit 27.1 times more CO2
Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Hong Kong emits 4.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), The World Factbook (2016–2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sierra Leone vs. Hong Kong
Hong Kong: At a glance
How big is Hong Kong compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.