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

Health

live 19.5 years longer

In Madagascar, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 66 years for women) as of 2024. In Macau, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

be 22.7% less likely to be unemployed

In Madagascar, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Macau, that number is 2.4% as of 2025.

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make 126.7 times more money

Madagascar has a GDP per capita of $599 as of 2025, while in Macau, the GDP per capita is $75,902 as of 2025.

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Life

be 30.0% more likely to be literate

In Madagascar, the literacy rate is 74.7% as of 2021. In Macau, it is 97.1% as of 2021.

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be 89.3% less likely to die during infancy

In Madagascar, approximately 43.0 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.

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have 83.3% fewer children

In Madagascar, there are approximately 31.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Macau, there are 5.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 2.5 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Madagascar, approximately 39% of people have electricity access (76% in urban areas, and 15% 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.

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be 4.8 times more likely to have internet access

In Madagascar, approximately 18.7% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Macau, about 89.8% do as of 2024.

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be 80.7% more likely to have access to drinking water

In Madagascar, approximately 55% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Macau, 100% of people do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 14.8% more on education

Madagascar spends 3.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Macau spends 3.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Geography

see 99.2% less coastline

Madagascar has a total of 4,828 km of coastline. In Macau, that number is 41 km.

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Infrastructure

find 248.8 times more home broadband

Madagascar has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Macau has 29.9 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 16.9 times more CO2

Madagascar emits 0.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Macau emits 2.5 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), The World Factbook (2021–2022). How we calculate this

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 Madagascar? See an in-depth size comparison.

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