20% of Hongkongers feel ‘lonely’, with 520,000 self-isolating, survey finds

Social welfare charity survey highlights unspoken isolation, with many unwilling to confide in family, friends or even AI chatbots

One in five people in Hong Kong feels “lonely”, with about 520,000 self-isolating and unwilling to confide in family, friends or even artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, a survey has found.

The Hong Kong Family Welfare Society on Tuesday released the survey results, which also showed the city’s family well-being index at 6.09, slightly up from 6.06 in 2024.

The NGO conducted the survey between January and February, randomly polling 2,112 Hong Kong residents aged 18 and above who lived with family members.

The findings showed that 19.8 per cent of respondents, or about one in five, were classified as “lonely”.

This was higher than the World Health Organization’s global rate of around 16 per cent, or one in six people experiencing loneliness worldwide.

“The figure is worse than the World Health Organization’s general rate, as we have roughly one in five people classified as lonely,” said Teresa Cheung Wing-shan, a senior manager at the NGO.