Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 8.9 years longer

In Malaysia, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 78 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 3.0 times more money

Malaysia has a GDP per capita of $33,600 as of 2023, while in Macau, the GDP per capita is $102,000 as of 2023.

be 41.7% less likely to be unemployed

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

pay a 57.1% lower top tax rate

Malaysia has a top tax rate of 28.0% as of 2016. In Macau, the top tax rate is 12.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 30.3% less likely to die during infancy

In Malaysia, approximately 6.6 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 39.4% fewer children

In Malaysia, there are approximately 14.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Macau, there are 8.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 61.5% more on education

Malaysia spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Macau spends 6.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 99.1% less coastline

Malaysia has a total of 4,675 km of coastline. In Macau, that number is 41 km.

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

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 Malaysia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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