Hong Kong vs every country
All 26 comparisons out of Hong Kong on the same real income, so they can be ranked against each other. 2 leave you more than Hong Kong does — the best is Thailand at $2,548 a year — and every figure counts social contributions, not just income tax.
2 of the 26 leave you more than Hong Kong does
All 26 comparisons out of Hong Kong, resolved on the same $100,000 of real income — which in Hong Kong is a salary of HK$576,759. Same purchasing power before tax on every row, so the ranking is made entirely of what each system takes.
Hong Kong leaves $87,804 of it, after income tax and every compulsory contribution. That is 3rd of 27, and 12.2% of the gross goes.
| Country | Keeps | Behind the first | Taken | Prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Thailand | $90,352 | first | 9.6% | 32.3 |
| 2India | $89,256 | −$1,096 | 10.7% | 22.7 |
| 3Hong Kong | $87,804 | −$2,548 | 12.2% | 74 |
| 4Pakistan | $80,410 | −$9,942 | 19.6% | 23.4 |
| 5Philippines | $77,798 | −$12,555 | 22.2% | 35.7 |
| 6Singapore | $77,729 | −$12,623 | 22.3% | 78.3 |
| 7Malaysia | $76,824 | −$13,529 | 23.2% | 33.4 |
| 8Switzerland | $76,477 | −$13,875 | 23.5% | 128.2 |
| 9Malta | $75,636 | −$14,717 | 24.4% | 69 |
| 10South Africa | $74,158 | −$16,194 | 25.8% | 43.3 |
| 11Australia | $73,925 | −$16,427 | 26.1% | 94.8 |
| 12United Kingdom | $73,049 | −$17,303 | 27.0% | 92.4 |
| 13Jamaica | $72,545 | −$17,808 | 27.5% | 61.7 |
| 14Canada | $72,437 | −$17,916 | 27.6% | 90.2 |
| 15Japan | $72,399 | −$17,954 | 27.6% | 69 |
| 16New Zealand | $71,870 | −$18,482 | 28.1% | 89.8 |
| 17Spain | $68,934 | −$21,419 | 31.1% | 68.7 |
| 18France | $68,850 | −$21,503 | 31.2% | 82.8 |
| 19Netherlands | $68,265 | −$22,088 | 31.7% | 86.7 |
| 20Ireland | $66,201 | −$24,151 | 33.8% | 102.1 |
| 21Luxembourg | $65,278 | −$25,075 | 34.7% | 98.6 |
| 22Austria | $65,246 | −$25,106 | 34.8% | 84.8 |
| 23Portugal | $63,994 | −$26,358 | 36.0% | 64.9 |
| 24Sweden | $62,087 | −$28,265 | 37.9% | 90.5 |
| 25Ethiopia | $61,361 | −$28,991 | 38.6% | 22.6 |
| 26Germany | $61,065 | −$29,287 | 38.9% | 81.2 |
| 27Italy | $60,321 | −$30,031 | 39.7% | 72.9 |
The same real income in every row, converted to each currency at the World Bank purchasing power parity factor, taxed under that country’s own system including compulsory contributions, and converted back. “Taken” is everything compulsory as a share of gross; “prices” is the household price level where the United States is 100. This ranks what you keep, not what the tax buys back.
The best on this measure is Thailand, $2,548 a year more; the worst is Italy at $27,483 less. The spread between those two is $30,031 on identical real pay.
And the sentence that has to sit next to the table: this ranks what you keep, not where you would be better off. In some of these countries the tax buys healthcare, university and a pension; in others the household buys them out of the money this table says it kept. There is no dataset that prices that difference, so the ranking does not pretend to.
Every destination from Hong Kong, resolved
Each one on its own page, with the full working, the break-even salary and what the figures cannot measure:
Hong Kong vs Thailand — +$2,548 a year. Thailand keeps $90,352 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 9.6%; prices index 32.3 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs India — +$1,452 a year. India keeps $89,256 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 10.7%; prices index 22.7 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Pakistan — $7,395 a year less. Pakistan keeps $80,410 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 19.6%; prices index 23.4 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs the Philippines — $10,007 a year less. The Philippines keeps $77,798 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 22.2%; prices index 35.7 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Singapore — $10,075 a year less. Singapore keeps $77,729 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 22.3%; prices index 78.3 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Malaysia — $10,981 a year less. Malaysia keeps $76,824 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 23.2%; prices index 33.4 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Switzerland — $11,327 a year less. Switzerland keeps $76,477 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 23.5%; prices index 128.2 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Malta — $12,169 a year less. Malta keeps $75,636 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 24.4%; prices index 69 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs South Africa — $13,647 a year less. South Africa keeps $74,158 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 25.8%; prices index 43.3 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Australia — $13,879 a year less. Australia keeps $73,925 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 26.1%; prices index 94.8 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs the United Kingdom — $14,755 a year less. The United Kingdom keeps $73,049 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 27.0%; prices index 92.4 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Jamaica — $15,260 a year less. Jamaica keeps $72,545 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 27.5%; prices index 61.7 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Canada — $15,368 a year less. Canada keeps $72,437 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 27.6%; prices index 90.2 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Japan — $15,406 a year less. Japan keeps $72,399 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 27.6%; prices index 69 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs New Zealand — $15,934 a year less. New Zealand keeps $71,870 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 28.1%; prices index 89.8 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Spain — $18,871 a year less. Spain keeps $68,934 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 31.1%; prices index 68.7 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs France — $18,955 a year less. France keeps $68,850 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 31.2%; prices index 82.8 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs the Netherlands — $19,540 a year less. The Netherlands keeps $68,265 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 31.7%; prices index 86.7 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Ireland — $21,603 a year less. Ireland keeps $66,201 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 33.8%; prices index 102.1 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Luxembourg — $22,527 a year less. Luxembourg keeps $65,278 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 34.7%; prices index 98.6 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Austria — $22,558 a year less. Austria keeps $65,246 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 34.8%; prices index 84.8 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Portugal — $23,810 a year less. Portugal keeps $63,994 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 36.0%; prices index 64.9 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Sweden — $25,717 a year less. Sweden keeps $62,087 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 37.9%; prices index 90.5 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Ethiopia — $26,444 a year less. Ethiopia keeps $61,361 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 38.6%; prices index 22.6 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Germany — $26,740 a year less. Germany keeps $61,065 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 38.9%; prices index 81.2 against 74 here.
Hong Kong vs Italy — $27,483 a year less. Italy keeps $60,321 of the same real income, at an effective rate of 39.7%; prices index 72.9 against 74 here.
What actually comes out of a Hong Kong payslip
The figure above is not income tax. It is income tax plus every compulsory contribution, which in most countries is the larger of the two and in a few is more than twice as large.
On HK$576,759: income tax HK$52,339 and contributions HK$18,000 — 9.1% and 3.1% of gross.
The contributions are Mandatory Provident Fund, employee contribution at HK$18,000.
The tax is charged on assessable income after deductions, which on this salary is HK$558,759 — not the gross. That distinction is where most cross-country comparisons go wrong before any arithmetic starts.
Sources for every one of those figures: Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority. The full citations are at the foot of each comparison page.
What these comparisons do not tell you
What the tax buys. The largest omission and the one worth repeating on every page. Out-of-pocket health spending per person is the one piece of it that exists as a comparable figure — not published for Hong Kong — and it is one line of several.
Whether the salary exists. Every row holds real income constant, which is the right way to compare tax systems and the wrong way to plan a move. Output per person in Hong Kong is $80,423; on some of these rows the other country's figure is very different, and a salary that is ordinary in one is exceptional in the other.
Your household. Every figure is a single filer with no children, on the main regional scale, with no deductions beyond the standard ones. Joint assessment, family quotients and child credits change the answer and in some pairs reverse it.
The year you move. Tax residence rules decide which country taxes you while you are crossing, and a treaty decides it where both claim you. None of that is modelled.
Still not modelled in Hong Kong: Deductions beyond MPF are not modelled: self-education expenses, approved charitable donations, elderly residential care, home loan interest, domestic rent and voluntary health insurance all reduce assessable income.
How it is worked out
Salaries are converted with the World Bank's purchasing power parity factor for household consumption, not with an exchange rate. An exchange rate measures what money is worth if you carry it abroad; what matters here is what it buys where it is earned.
World Bank, International Comparison Program — PPP conversion factor, household final consumption expenditure (LCU per international $), 2025 — read 2026-09-11. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PRVT.PP
World Bank — Price level ratio of PPP conversion factor to market exchange rate, 2025 (United States = 100) — read 2026-09-11. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPP.03.CD
World Health Organization Global Health Expenditure Database, via World Bank — Out-of-pocket health expenditure per capita, PPP, 2023 — read 2026-09-11. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.OOPC.PP.CD
The price figures are the 2025 release and are not extrapolated. Tax rates and contribution rates come from the authority that sets each one, cited on each page with the date it was read.
Hong Kong income tax calculator has the Hong Kong scale on its own, in detail, including the parts that only matter inside the country.
Where to go next
Questions
- Where would a Hong Kong salary go furthest?
- Thailand leaves the most — $2,548 a year more than Hong Kong on the same real income — and 2 of the 26 countries here leave more than Hong Kong does. That is what you keep, not what you get back for it.
- How much of a salary does Hong Kong take?
- 12.2% of a HK$576,759 salary, counting income tax (HK$52,339) and every compulsory contribution (HK$18,000). The headline income tax rate on its own describes 9.1% of it.
- Why compare in international dollars?
- Because an exchange rate tells you what your money is worth if you take it somewhere else, and a salary is spent where it is earned. The conversion here is the World Bank's purchasing power parity factor for household consumption, which prices a comparable basket in each country. $100,000 of real income is HK$576,759 in Hong Kong.
- Does this say which country is better to live in?
- No, and it deliberately does not. It measures what a salary leaves you after everything compulsory, in a unit that lets two countries be compared. What the tax buys back — healthcare, education, pensions, unemployment cover — is the other half of the question, and there is no dataset that prices it. Every page here says so rather than quietly picking a winner.