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

Health

live 11.7 years longer

In Vanuatu, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 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 53.6% less likely to be unemployed

In Vanuatu, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Macau, that number is 2.4% as of 2025.

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make 18.8 times more money

Vanuatu has a GDP per capita of $4,039 as of 2025, while in Macau, the GDP per capita is $75,902 as of 2025.

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Life

be 10.4% more likely to be literate

In Vanuatu, the literacy rate is 88.0% as of 2023. In Macau, it is 97.1% as of 2021.

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be 68.1% less likely to die during infancy

In Vanuatu, approximately 14.4 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 80.8% fewer children

In Vanuatu, there are approximately 27.6 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 62.3% more likely to have access to electricity

In Vanuatu, approximately 62% of people have electricity access (88% in urban areas, and 54% 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 28.5% more likely to have internet access

In Vanuatu, approximately 69.9% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Macau, about 89.8% do as of 2024.

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be 14.8% more likely to have access to drinking water

In Vanuatu, approximately 87% 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 54.2% less on education

Vanuatu spends 7.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Macau spends 3.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Geography

see 98.4% less coastline

Vanuatu has a total of 2,528 km of coastline. In Macau, that number is 41 km.

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Safety

be 69.7% more likely to be murdered

Vanuatu has a homicide rate of 0.3 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Macau, that number is 0.6 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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Infrastructure

find 25.7 times more home broadband

Vanuatu has 1.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Macau has 29.9 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 2.9 times more CO2

Vanuatu emits 0.9 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 (2020–2025), The World Factbook (2021–2022), United Nations SDG Indicators (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 Vanuatu? See an in-depth size comparison.

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