Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Macau instead of Iceland, you would:

Health

live 1.3 years longer

In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Macau, that number is 85 years (82 years for men, 88 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 53.4% more money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $66,500 as of 2023, while in Macau, the GDP per capita is $102,000 as of 2023.

be 36.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Iceland, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Macau, that number is 2.2% as of 2023.

pay a 74.1% lower top tax rate

Iceland has a top tax rate of 46.3% as of 2016. In Macau, the top tax rate is 12.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 2.8 times more likely to die during infancy

In Iceland, approximately 1.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Macau, on the other hand, 4.6 children do as of 2022.

have 31.7% fewer children

In Iceland, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Macau, there are 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 12.0% less likely to have internet access

In Iceland, approximately 100.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Macau, about 88.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 18.2% less on education

Iceland spends 7.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Macau spends 6.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 99.2% less coastline

Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Macau, that number is 41 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Secretariat for Economy and Finance, Directorate of Internal Revenue.

Macau: At a glance

Macau is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 28 sq km. Colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and Portugal on 13 April 1987, Macau became the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on 20 December 1999. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's political and economic system would not be imposed on Macau, and that Macau would enjoy a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign affairs and defense for the subsequent 50 years.
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How big is Macau compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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