Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Macau instead of North Korea, you would:
Health
live 9.6 years longer
In North Korea, the average life expectancy is 74 years (72 years for men, 76 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 33.6% less likely to be unemployed
In North Korea, 3.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Macau, that number is 2.4% as of 2025.
Life
be 65.5% less likely to die during infancy
In North Korea, approximately 13.3 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 58.8% fewer children
In North Korea, there are approximately 12.9 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 73.9% more likely to have access to electricity
In North Korea, approximately 58% of people have electricity access (36% in urban areas, and 11% 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.
Geography
see 98.4% less coastline
North Korea has a total of 2,495 km of coastline. In Macau, that number is 41 km.
Sources: World Bank (2023–2025), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: North Korea vs. Macau
Macau: At a glance
How big is Macau compared to North Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.