Hong Kong tops living standards poll

China Staff, Sep 2007

Hong Kong people enjoy the highest living standards and economic well-being in Asia while those on the mainland lag behind, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study has found.

But Hong Kong was the second costliest place to live in Asia after Fiji, followed by Macau, Singapore and Taipei, according to the ADB's International Comparison Programme in Asia and the Pacific: Purchasing Power Parity Preliminary Report.

Japan was excluded from the study.

The poll measured the "actual final consumption of households [AFCH]" of 23 Asian economies to determine their well-being and living standards. According to the South China Morning Post, the final measure includes items purchased as well as those supplied by governments, such as education and health care.

The ADB's chief economist, Ifzal Ali, said the mainland dominated the region's economic activity, accounting for about 45% of the total real gross domestic product of the 23 economies. But the mainland's ranking dropped to 15th when its 1.3 billion population and AFCH were taken into account, said Ali.

Hong Kong ranked first when economies were compared based on AFCH, followed by Taipei and Singapore.