Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Hong Kong instead of Macau, you would:

Health

live 1.4 years less

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

Economy

make 36.9% less money

Macau has a GDP per capita of $102,000 as of 2023, while in Hong Kong, the GDP per capita is $64,400 as of 2023.

be 74.7% more likely to be unemployed

In Macau, 2.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Hong Kong, that number is 3.9% as of 2023.

pay a 25.0% higher top tax rate

Macau has a top tax rate of 12.0% as of 2016. In Hong Kong, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 44.4% less likely to die during infancy

In Macau, approximately 4.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Hong Kong, on the other hand, 2.5 children do as of 2022.

have 11.6% fewer children

In Macau, there are approximately 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Hong Kong, there are 7.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 36.5% less on education

Macau spends 6.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Hong Kong spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 17.9 times more coastline

Macau has a total of 41 km of coastline. In Hong Kong, that number is 733 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Secretariat for Economy and Finance, Inland Revenue Department, Hong Kong.

Hong Kong: At a glance

Hong Kong (sometimes abbreviated HK) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 1,073 sq km. Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the subsequent 50 years.
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How big is Hong Kong compared to Macau? See an in-depth size comparison.

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