Hong Kong is still less prosperous than Singapore

The SAR settled for 22nd place in the global rankings.

Hong Kong has climbed three notches to nab 22nd place in the global prosperity index compiled by British-based Legatum Institute on the back of improving scores in personal freedom.

The SAR’s business environment was hailed as 7th best in the world whilst safety and secuirty is 4th and health is 9th. Hong Kong has also made headway in improving its score on personal freedom which has been dismal in recent years.

Hong Kong’s governance and education score are at 30th and 23rd amidst steady improvements to respectively amidst the city’s concerted and industry-wide efforts to remain competitive and business-friendly. In fact, the SAR has only moved down the rankings by one place since the launch of the first edition in 2006.

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However, the city performs poorly on the natural environment pillar (86th) likely due to worsening air pollution threatening the health of its citizens. It also ranked 51st place in social capital which measures the strength of personal relationships and civic participation in a country.

Singapore still ranks a bit ahead of Hong Kong despite falling four places in the global rankings at 21st place.

Also read: Hong Kong trails behind Singapore in economic competitiveness

The survey hails Norway as the most prosperous country in the world followed by New Zealand and Finland. Switzerland and Denmark round out the top five.