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In general, information available as of 1 January, 2004 was used in the preparation of The World Factbook. This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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| Introduction | Macau | Top of Page
Background: | 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.
| Geography | Macau | Top of Page
Location: | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Geographic coordinates: | 22 10 N, 113 33 E
Map references: | Southeast Asia
Area: | total: 25.4 sq km land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: | total: 0.34 km regional border: China 0.34 km
Coastline: | 41 km
Maritime claims: | not specified
Climate: | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers
Terrain: | generally flat
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m
Natural resources: | NEGL
Land use: | arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (2001)
Irrigated land: | NA sq km
Natural hazards: | typhoons
Environment - current issues: | NA
Geography - note: | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland
| People | Macau | Top of Page
Population: | 445,286 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: | 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.)
Median age: | total: 35.2 years male: 34.9 years female: 35.4 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: | 0.87% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: | 8.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: | 4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: | 4.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: | 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.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 82.03 years male: 79.2 years female: 84.99 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 0.93 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA
Nationality: | noun: Chinese adjective: Chinese
Ethnic groups: | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other
Religions: | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.)
Languages: | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese)
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 94.5% male: 97.2% female: 92% (2003 est.)
| Government | Macau | Top of Page
Country name: | conventional long form: Macau Special Administrative Region conventional short form: Macau local long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) local short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese)
Dependency status: | special administrative region of China
Government type: | limited democracy
Administrative divisions: | none (special administrative region of China)
Independence: | none (special administrative region of China)
National holiday: | 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
Constitution: | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution"
Legal system: | based on Portuguese civil law system
Suffrage: | 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
Executive branch: | chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of all one government secretary, four legislators, four businessmen, and one pro-Beijing unionist elections: chief executive chosen by a 300-member selection committee for up to two five-year terms election results: Edmund HO Hau-wah reelected on 29 August 2004; received 296 votes in Election Committee out of 300 possible; 3 members submitted blank ballots; 1 member was absent
Legislative branch: | unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (27 seats; 10 elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and sevem appointed by the chief executive; members serve four-year terms); number of legislators will increase to 29 from September 2005 elections: last held 23 September 2001 (next to be September 2005) 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
Judicial branch: | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region
Political parties and leaders: | Some civic associations operate as de facto political parties: Electoral Union; Pro-Macao and Flower of Friendship and Development of Macao; Associacao para a Defesa dos Interesses de Macao; Centro Democratico de Macao; Grupo Independente de Macao; Macau Economic Promotion Association; Progress Promotion Union; Development Union
Political pressure groups and leaders: | Catholic Church [LAI Hung-sing, bishop]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO, managing director]; Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong, leader]
International organization participation: | IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (sub-bureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate), WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (special administrative region of China)
Diplomatic representation from the US: | the US has no offices in Macau; US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong
Flag description: | light green with a lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, beneath an arc of five gold, five-pointed stars: one large in center of arc and four smaller
| Economy | Macau | Top of Page
Economy - overview: | 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.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $9.1 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 4% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $19,400 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 1% industry: 12% services: 87% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line: | NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | -2.6% (2003 est.)
Labor force: | 214,000 (2002)
Labor force - by occupation: | manufacturing 20%, construction 7%, transport and communications 6%, wholesale and retail trade 15%, restaurants and hotels 12%, gambling 7%, public sector 8%, other services and agriculture 25% (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate: | 6.3% (2003)
Budget: | revenues: $1.9 billion expenditures: $1.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $194 million (2002)
Agriculture - products: | vegetables, livestock
Industries: | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys
Industrial production growth rate: | NA
Electricity - production: | 1.611 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - consumption: | 1.688 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: | 1 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 193 million kWh (2002)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 11,190 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA (2001)
Oil - imports: | NA (2001)
Exports: | $2.356 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities: | clothing, textiles, footwear, cement, machines, and parts
Exports - partners: | US 49.4%, China 14.1%, Germany 8.1%, Hong Kong 6.7%, UK 4.5% (2003)
Imports: | $2.53 billion c.i.f. (2002)
Imports - commodities: | clothing, textiles, yarn, foodstuffs, fuel, automobiles, capital goods
Imports - partners: | China 43%, Hong Kong 12.7%, Japan 8.7%, Taiwan 5.6% (2003)
Debt - external: | $121 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | NA (1997)
Currency: | pataca (MOP)
Currency code: | MOP
Exchange rates: | patacas per US dollar - 8.0212 (2003), 8.0334 (2002), 8.0335 (2001), 8.0259 (2000), 7.9919 (1999)
Fiscal year: | calendar year
| Communications | Macau | Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use: | 174,600 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 364,000 (2003)
Telephone system: | 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)
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Television broadcast stations: | 1 (2003)
Internet country code: | .mo
Internet hosts: | 89 (2003)
Internet users: | 120,000 (2003)
| Transportation | Macau | Top of Page
Highways: | total: 271 km paved: 271 km unpaved: 0 km (2000)
Ports and harbors: | Macau
Merchant marine: | none
Airports: | 1 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
| Military | Macau | Top of Page
Military branches: | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there are local police forces
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 125,060 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 68,913 (2004 est.)
| Transnational Issues | Macau | Top of Page
Disputes - international: | none
This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005