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Notes -
The Caribbean has a good mix of former colonies and present overseas territories of various European nations, so it's probably the best bet for a head to head comparison under similar circumstances. My impression is that the independent islands do worse, but I'm not familiar enough with living standards and economics in that region to be sure. France also has some of the most populous remaining colonies in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and they seem like nicer places than most of their neighbors.
Puerto Rico is the richest place in the Caribbean, I believe. French Guiana is richer than its closest neighbors Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana.
I was gonna say Puerto Rico as well but I realized it had less people than Hong Kong. Still maybe the closest example though. Greenland easily the most prominent former colony in size but the population is like a small city or a large town.
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