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Background:
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 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 China on 20
December 1999. China has promised that, under its "one
country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic
system will not be practiced in Macau, and that Macau will
enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign
and defense affairs for the next 50 years. |
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Location:
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Eastern Asia,
bordering the South China Sea and China |
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Geographic coordinates:
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22 10 N, 113 33 E |
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Map references:
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Southeast
Asia |
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Area:
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total:
25.4 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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about 0.1 times
the size of Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
0.34 km
regional border: China 0.34 km |
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Coastline:
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41 km |
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Climate:
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subtropical;
marine with cool winters, warm summers |
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Terrain:
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generally flat |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
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Natural resources:
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NEGL |
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Land use:
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arable land:
0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100%
note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (1998
est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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NA sq km |
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Natural hazards:
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typhoons |
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Environment - current issues:
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NA |
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Geography - note:
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essentially
urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of
Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland |
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Population:
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445,286 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
18% (male 41,460; female 38,595)
15-64 years: 74.2% (male 157,629; female 172,810)
65 years and over: 7.8% (male 14,380; female 20,412)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
35.2 years
male: 34.9 years
female: 35.4 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.87% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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8.04 births/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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4.23 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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4.86 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 82.03 years
male: 79.2 years
female: 84.99 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA% |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
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Ethnic groups:
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Chinese 95%,
Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese,
other |
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Religions:
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Buddhist 50%,
Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) |
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Languages:
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Portuguese,
Chinese (Cantonese) |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.5%
male: 97.2%
female: 92% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Macau Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Macau
local short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese)
local long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese);
Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) |
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Dependency status:
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special
administrative region of China |
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Government type:
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limited democracy |
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Administrative divisions:
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none (special
administrative region of China) |
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Independence:
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none (special
administrative region of China) |
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National holiday:
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National Day
(Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of
China), 1 October (1949); note - 20 December 1999 is
celebrated as Macau Special Administrative Region
Establishment Day |
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Constitution:
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Basic Law,
approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress,
is Macau's "mini-constitution" |
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Legal system:
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based on
Portuguese civil law system |
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Suffrage:
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direct election
18 years of age, universal for permanent residents living in
Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to
organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257
are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee
drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations,
and central government bodies |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
elections: chief executive chosen by a 300-member
selection committee for up to two five-year terms
cabinet: Executive Council consists of all five
government secretaries, three legislators, and two businessmen
head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah
(since 20 December 1999) |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral
Legislative Council or LEGCO (27 seats; 10 elected by popular
vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief
executive; members serve four-year terms)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by
political bloc - Entertainment Industry 3, pro-democracy 2,
pro-Beijing Labor Union 2, pro-Beijing Neighborhood
Association 2, pro-business 1
elections: last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held
2005) |
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Judicial branch:
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The Court of
Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region |
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Political parties and leaders:
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there are no
formal political parties, however, there are civic
associations that, for purposes of legislative voting, join
together to form political blocs |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Catholic Church [Domingos
LAM, bishop]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or
STDM [Stanley HO, managing director]; Union for Democracy
Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong, leader] |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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none (special
administrative region of China) |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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the US has no
offices in Macau; US interests are monitored by the US
Consulate General in Hong Kong |
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Economy - overview:
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Macau's
well-to-do economy has remained one of the most open in the
world since its reversion to China in 1999. The territory's
net exports of goods and services account for roughly 41% of
GDP with tourism and apparel exports as the mainstays.
Although the territory was hit hard by the 1998 Asian
financial crisis and the global downturn in 2001, its economy
grew 9.5% in 2002. A rapid rise in the number of mainland
visitors because of China's easing of restrictions on travel
drove the recovery. The budget also returned to surplus in
2002 because of the surge in visitors from China and a hike in
taxes on gambling profits, which generated about 70% of
government revenue. The liberalization of Macao's gambling
monopoly contributes to GDP growth, as the three companies
awarded gambling licenses have pledged to invest $2.2 billion
in the territory. Much of Macau's textile industry may move to
the mainland as the Multi-Fiber Agreement is phased out. The
territory may have to rely more on gambling and trade-related
services to generate growth. The government estimated GDP
growth at 4% in 2003 with the drop in large measure due to
concerns over the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS),
but private sector analysts think the figure may have been
higher because of the continuing boom in tourism. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $9.1 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $19,400 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
1%
industry: 12%
services: 87% (2002 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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-2.6% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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214,000 (2002) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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restaurants and
hotels 12%, manufacturing 20%, wholesale and retail trade 15%,
public sector 8%, construction 7%, transport and
communications 6%, gambling 7%, other services and agriculture
25% (2002 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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6.3% (2003) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$1.9 billion
expenditures: $1.68 billion, including capital
expenditures of $194 million (2002) |
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Industries:
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tourism,
gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA% |
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Electricity - production:
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1.611 billion kWh
(2002) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.688 billion kWh
(2002) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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11,190 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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vegetables,
livestock |
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Exports:
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$2.356 billion
f.o.b. (2002) |
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Exports - commodities:
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clothing,
textiles, footwear, cement, machines, and parts |
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Exports - partners:
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US 48.5%, China
15.5%, Germany 7.4%, Hong Kong 5.8%, UK 5.4% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$2.53 billion
c.i.f. (2002) |
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Imports - commodities:
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clothing,
textiles, yarn, foodstuffs, fuel, automobiles, capital goods |
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Imports - partners:
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China 41.7%, Hong
Kong 14.5%, Japan 6.8%, Taiwan 6.6%, South Korea 5%, France
4.3%, US 4.2% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$121 million
(2001 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$NA (1997) |
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Currency:
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pataca (MOP) |
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Currency code:
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MOP |
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Exchange rates:
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patacas per US
dollar - 8.02 (2003), 8.03 (2002), 8.03 (2001), 8.03 (2000),
7.99 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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176,100 (2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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276,100 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: fairly modern communication facilities
maintained for domestic and international services
domestic: NA
international: country code - 853; HF radiotelephone
communication facility; access to international communications
carriers provided via Hong Kong and China; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 0, FM 2,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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1 (2003) |
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Internet country code:
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.mo |
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Internet hosts:
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150 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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115,000 (2002) |
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Railways:
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0 km |
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Highways:
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total: 271
km
paved: 271 km
unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
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Waterways:
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none |
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Ports and harbors:
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Macau |
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Merchant marine:
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none |
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Airports:
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1 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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responsibility
for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there are
local police forces |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 125,060 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 68,913 (2004 est.) |
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Disputes - international:
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none |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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