Hong Kong, Taiwan top Asian living standards; Nepal last

Manila, July 31:

Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore households enjoy the highest living standards in the Asia-Pacific while those in emerging powerhouses China and India remain poor, according to an Asian Development Bank survey.

The poll measured the ‘actual final consumption of households’ of 23 Asian economies to determine their well-being and living standards. The final measure includes items purchased as well as those su-pplied by governments like education and health care.

The Chinese territory of Hong Kong was top with $16,019 per capita, followed by Taiwan, Singapore, Brunei and Macau. China and India account for 64 per cent of the

total GDP of the 23 economies included in the survey. But in per capita terms, a person living in China spends an average of only $1,470 per year, with India on $1,202.

The five poorest economies were Nepal, Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.