“Hong Kong and mainland China were among the last places globally to lift restrictions, meaning they were relatively more challenging locations to live in during the final stages of the pandemic,” said Mark Harrison, general manager for Asia at ECA.

“With those restrictions belatedly lifted, both Hong Kong and mainland Chinese locations have seen improvements over the last 12 months.”

ECA attributed Hong Kong’s downward trend in the rankings over the last 10 years to the worsening sociopolitical environment, along with pollution, particularly air, and the impact of typhoons, which could have a major impact on infrastructure and residents’ ability to get around the city.

“The pollution and the climate – those have always been factors, and they haven’t particularly changed really over the last 10 years,” Harrison said.

“The factor that has caused Hong Kong to drop in the rankings over the last 10 years has certainly been the political situation.”

Hong Kong ends reign as most expensive city for expats, Singapore gains 8 places

Harrison added that the firm’s study showed personal security and sociopolitical tensions were the most important factors when employees considered moving overseas, and Hong Kong scored highly on the former, which assessed the risk of crime, terrorism or military coups.

“In terms of sociopolitical tensions, we have seen that score improved slightly in the last few years. It’s mainly driven by the personal risks that a person might experience. So things like the protests are quite disruptive and risky to individuals,” he said.

“Hong Kong’s national security law and the impending enactment of Article 23 have minimal effect on expatriates’ decision to move to the city.”

Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong following the 2019 social unrest. The Hong Kong government this year plans to legislate its own national security law, which is required under Article 23 of the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

Singapore topped the ranking for 10 years because of its good infrastructure, low crime rates, and limited climate risks – such as the absence of typhoons, Harrison said.

Hong Kong falls to 77th spot in liveability ranking for expats

For Hong Kong, there is room for improvement. “There’s still time for flights to return to pre-pandemic levels which will improve the external isolation score,” he said.

“Some of the pollution we experience in Hong Kong certainly is locally produced. I think improvements that can be made in terms of access to electric vehicles will potentially reduce that locally produced pollution.”

Some factors that contributed to Hong Kong’s rating were beyond control, such as typhoons, Harrison said, adding that there was not much one could do about that apart from keeping the levels of recovery and infrastructure as good as they were.

Another factor was the difficulty in obtaining large properties, which expatriates might be more used to. “Obviously, Hong Kong has relatively small houses and apartments, [and it is] difficult for that to change in any meaningful way,” Harrison said.

In Asia, Hong Kong also trails behind three Japanese cities – Tokyo in second place, Osaka in fifth and Yokohama in seventh – as well as South Korea’s Busan in 49th.

Hong Kong is the highest-ranked city in Greater China, sharing 77th place with Taipei. Macau is in 92nd place and Shanghai in 113th.