Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Macau instead of Afghanistan, you would:
Health
live 17.0 years longer
In Afghanistan, the average life expectancy is 66 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024. In Macau, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
be 82.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Afghanistan, 13.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Macau, that number is 2.4% as of 2025.
make 182.1 times more money
Afghanistan has a GDP per capita of $417 as of 2024, while in Macau, the GDP per capita is $75,902 as of 2025.
Life
be 2.6 times more likely to be literate
In Afghanistan, the literacy rate is 37.3% as of 2021. In Macau, it is 97.1% as of 2021.
be 90.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Afghanistan, approximately 48.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Macau, on the other hand, 4.6 children do as of 2022.
have 84.9% fewer children
In Afghanistan, there are approximately 35.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Macau, there are 5.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 17.2% more likely to have access to electricity
In Afghanistan, approximately 85% of people have electricity access (96% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Macau, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 5.6 times more likely to have internet access
In Afghanistan, approximately 16.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Macau, about 89.8% do as of 2024.
be 23.7% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Afghanistan, approximately 81% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Macau, 100% of people do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 20.7% more on education
Afghanistan spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Macau spends 3.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Safety
be 86.1% less likely to be murdered
Afghanistan has a homicide rate of 4.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Macau, that number is 0.6 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 373.2 times more home broadband
Afghanistan has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Macau has 29.9 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 9.0 times more CO2
Afghanistan emits 0.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Macau emits 2.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), The World Factbook (2020–2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Afghanistan vs. Macau
Macau: At a glance
How big is Macau compared to Afghanistan? See an in-depth size comparison.