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Introduction | Macau

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

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

Population: | 449,198 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 17% (male 39,564/female 36,947) 15-64 years: 75.1% (male 160,957/female 176,386) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 14,713/female 20,631) (2005 est.)
Median age: | total: 35.2 years male: 34.9 years female: 35.4 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate: | 0.87% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: | 8.04 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: | 4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: | 4.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2005 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 (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 82.03 years male: 79.2 years female: 84.99 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 0.93 children born/woman (2005 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 95.7%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry) 1%, other 3.3% (2001 census)
Religions: | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.)
Languages: | Cantonese 87.9%, Hokkien 4.4%, Mandarin 1.6%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 3% (2001 census)
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 94.5% male: 97.2% female: 92% (2003 est.)

Government | Macau

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 one government secretary, four legislators, four businessmen, and one pro-Beijing unionist
elections: chief executive chosen by a 300-member Election 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 seven appointed by the chief executive; members serve four-year terms); number of legislators will increase to 29 in September 2005
elections: last held 23 September 2001 (next in 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: | Court of Final Appeal in 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

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. Apparel exports and tourism are mainstays of the economy. 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 and 15.6% in 2003. During the first three quarters of 2004, Macau registered year-on-year GDP increases of more than 20 percent. A rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors because of China's easing of restrictions on travel, increased public works expenditures, and significant investment inflows associated with the liberalization of Macau's gaming industry 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 three companies awarded gambling licenses have pledged to invest $2.2 billion in the territory, which will boost GDP growth. 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. Two new casinos were opened by new foreign gambling licensees in 2004; development of new infrastructure and facilities in preparation for Macau's hosting of the 2005 East Asian Games will bolster the construction sector. The Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Macau and mainland China that came into effect on 1 January 2004 offers many Macau-made products tariff-free access to the mainland, and the range of products covered by CEPA was to be expanded on 1 January 2005.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $9.1 billion (2003)
GDP - real growth rate: | 15.6% (2003)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $19,400 (2003)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 0.1% industry: 7.2% services: 92.7% (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% (3rd quarter, 2004)
Labor force: | 231,500 (3rd Quarter, 2004)
Labor force - by occupation: | manufacturing 18.3%, construction 8%, transport and communications 7%, wholesale and retail trade 16.2%, restaurants and hotels 10.9%, gambling 11.6%, public sector 8.8%, other services and agriculture 19.2% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate: | 4.7% (3rd Quarter, 2004)
Budget: | revenues: $1.84 billion expenditures: $1.57 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003)
Agriculture - products: | only 2% of land area is cultivated, mainly by vegetable growers; fishing, mostly for crustaceans, is important, some of catch is exported to Hong Kong; most food requirements are met by imports, primarily from China
Industries: | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys
Industrial production growth rate: | NA
Electricity - production: | 1.719 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 1.772 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: | 1 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: | 179.7 million kWh (2003)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 11,190 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA
Oil - imports: | NA
Exports: | $2.58 billion f.o.b., including reexports (2003)
Exports - commodities: | clothing, textiles, footwear, toys, electronics, machinery and parts
Exports - partners: | US 48.7%, China 13.9%, Germany 8.3%, Hong Kong 7.6%, UK 4.4% (2004)
Imports: | $2.76 billion c.i.f. (2003)
Imports - commodities: | raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, consumer goods (foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco), capital goods, mineral fuels and oils
Imports - partners: | China 44.4%, Hong Kong 10.6%, Japan 9.6%, Taiwan 4.9%, Singapore 4.1%, US 4.1% (2004)
Debt - external: | $2.7 billion (2003)
Economic aid - recipient: | NA
Currency: | pataca (MOP)
Currency code: | MOP
Exchange rates: | patacas per US dollar - 8.022 (2004), 8.021 (2003), 8.033 (2002), 8.034 (2001), 8.026 (2000)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Macau

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)
Radios: | 160,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 1 (2003)
Televisions: | 49,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .mo
Internet hosts: | 89 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1 (2000)
Internet users: | 120,000 (2003)

Transportation | Macau

Highways: | total: 341 km paved: 341 km unpaved: 0 km (2002)
Ports and harbors: | Macau
Airports: | 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military | Macau

Military branches: | China's People's Revolutionary Army (PLA) constitutes the only armed force in Macau; several police forces constitute the Security Forces of Macau (SFM) that are subordinate to the General Secretariat of Security, a body comparable to a ministry of interior (2004)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 18-49: 112,744 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 91,299 (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues | Macau

Disputes - international: | none

This page was last updated on 30 June, 2005