Hong Kong vs South Korea: Life expectancy
Hong Kong
85.51 years
in 2023
South Korea
84.33 years
in 2023
Hong Kong rank
3rd
South Korea rank
5th
Life expectancy over time
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
How they compare
Hong Kong currently reports 85.51 years against 84.33 years in South Korea, a difference of 1.18 years.
Across all 74 years both countries report, Hong Kong has been ahead every year.
Hong Kong ranks 3rd and South Korea ranks 5th of 236 countries.
Hong Kong has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Hong Kong | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 61.94 years | 42.69 years | 19.25 years | Hong Kong |
| 1960s | 68.68 years | 56.79 years | 11.88 years | Hong Kong |
| 1970s | 72.58 years | 64.14 years | 8.44 years | Hong Kong |
| 1980s | 75.91 years | 68.15 years | 7.76 years | Hong Kong |
| 1990s | 78.89 years | 73.28 years | 5.61 years | Hong Kong |
| 2000s | 81.62 years | 78.33 years | 3.29 years | Hong Kong |
| 2010s | 84.05 years | 82.32 years | 1.73 years | Hong Kong |
| 2020s | 84.7 years | 83.65 years | 1.05 years | Hong Kong |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher life expectancy, Hong Kong or South Korea?
- Hong Kong, at 85.51 years against 84.33 years in South Korea as of 2023.
- What is the difference in life expectancy between Hong Kong and South Korea?
- 1.18 years, with Hong Kong ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Hong Kong and South Korea?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
- How do Hong Kong and South Korea rank globally for life expectancy?
- Hong Kong ranks 3rd and South Korea ranks 5th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Life expectancy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.