Hong Kong falls to 29th spot in list of most liveable cities for Asian expats

Hong Kong was ranked 11th back in 2013.

Hong Kong has fallen to 29th position in the global rankings of the most liveable locations for Asian expatriates, and remains the 15th most liveable location in the Asia Pacific region. This was one of the conclusions of the latest Location Ratings survey for expatriate living conditions published by ECA International, the world's leading provider of knowledge, information and software for the management and assignment of employees around the world.

Updated annually, ECA's Location Ratings system objectively evaluates a host of factors to form an assessment of the overall quality of living in over 470 locations worldwide. The system helps companies establish appropriate allowances to compensate employees for the adjustment required when going on international assignment.

Factors assessed include climate; availability of health services; housing and utilities; isolation; access to a social network and leisure facilities; infrastructure; personal safety; political tensions and air quality. The significance of some of the factors assessed, such as distance from home and differences in culture, language and climate, will vary according to where someone originates from. For this reason, we take into account both the home and destination countries when analysing quality of living.

“Back in 2013, Hong Kong was ranked 11th worldwide and 9th in Asia Pacific in terms of its liveability for Asian expatriates,” said Lee Quane, Regional Director – Asia, ECA International. “However, we have witnessed a gradual decline in Hong Kong’s global and regional rankings to 29th and 15th respectively.”

Hong Kong’s fall is due to a combination of internal and external factors.

“We have witnessed improvements of living conditions in several cities in Australia, Japan and New Zealand over the past five years,” said Quane. “At the same time, Hong Kong has continued to suffer from poor air quality levels. Combined with ongoing socio-political tensions in Hong Kong, it has therefore fallen in our rankings over this period.”