Hong Kong is on a lot of people’s bucket list on places to travel and live, but how do the people that live in Hong Kong feel about it as a city? It might be argued that happiness cannot be measured, but according to the World Happiness Report in 2015, Hong Kong is ranked at 72 out of 158 countries in terms of happiness. Earning 5.47 out of 10 scored based on GPA, freedom of life choice, healthy years of life expectancy, social support, generosity, perception of corruption and trust, it had dropped 0.037 points and 26 places since 2012, which contrasts with China, though ranked below us in 84th, rose 0.42 points.
Now what exactly has got Hong Kongers less happy? While the report will tell you that it’s the freedom to make life choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption. But if you have a look at the EIU’s world cost of living reports and the number of hours a Hong Kongers work on average, it all seems to make sense.
If you also consider the fact that Hong Kong is home to some of the richest people on the planet, which would inevitably pull up the GPA, there is no doubt just why Hong Konger’s happiness had dropped. With unaffordable housing, long working hours and wages that are unable to keep up with inflation and the house price, Hong Konger’s struggles to stay afloat in this day and life is causing them their happiness.