Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Hong Kong instead of United Kingdom, you would:

Health

live 4.0 years longer

In United Kingdom, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 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.

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Economy

be 41.1% less likely to be unemployed

In United Kingdom, 4.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Hong Kong, that number is 2.8% as of 2025.

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Life

be 37.8% less likely to die during infancy

In United Kingdom, approximately 4.1 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.

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have 50.5% fewer children

In United Kingdom, there are approximately 9.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Hong Kong, there are 4.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 35.5% less on education

United Kingdom spends 5.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Hong Kong spends 3.8% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

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Geography

see 94.1% less coastline

United Kingdom has a total of 12,429 km of coastline. In Hong Kong, that number is 733 km.

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Safety

be 66.1% less likely to be murdered

United Kingdom has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Hong Kong, that number is 0.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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Infrastructure

use 51.6% more electricity

United Kingdom uses 4,195 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Hong Kong uses 6,359 kWh as of 2023.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this

Compare further: United Kingdom vs. Hong Kong

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Hong Kong is 17.7% more expensive than United Kingdom overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
United Kingdom is about 220 times bigger than Hong Kong.
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Moving from United Kingdom to Hong Kong · UN DESA 2020
18,436 people born in United Kingdom live in Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong: At a glance

Hong Kong (sometimes abbreviated HK) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 1,073 sq km. Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the subsequent 50 years.
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How big is Hong Kong compared to United Kingdom? See an in-depth size comparison.

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