| 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. |
| Location: |
Eastern Asia,
bordering the South China Sea and China |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
22 10 N, 113 33 E |
| Map
references: |
Southeast Asia |
| Area: |
total:
21 sq km
land: 21 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
about 0.1 times
the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
boundaries: |
total:
0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
not specified |
| Climate: |
subtropical;
marine with cool winters, warm summers |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 174 m |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
0%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 98% (1998 est.) |
| 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 |
| Population: |
453,733 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
22.68% (male 53,291; female 49,615)
15-64 years: 70.08% (male 150,538; female
167,431)
65 years and over: 7.24% (male 13,287; female
19,571) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.79% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
12.36
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
3.71 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
9.25 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
4.47 deaths/1,000
live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 81.69 years
male: 78.88 years
female: 84.64 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.31 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
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: 90%
male: 93%
female: 86% (1981 est.) |
| 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 |
| 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 JIANG Zemin (since 27
March 1993)
head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO
Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of all five
government secretaries, three legislators, and two
businessmen
elections: NA |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral
Legislative Council or LEGCO (23 seats; 8 elected by popular
vote, 8 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief
executive; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 22 September 1996 (next to
be held by 15 October 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - APPEM 2, UNIPRO 2, CODEM 1, UDM 1, UPD
1, ANMD 1 |
| Judicial
branch: |
The Court of
Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
the following is
a listing of those associations that participated in the
last legislative elections: Associacao de Novo Macau
Democratico or ANMD [leader NA]; Associacao Promotora para a
Economia de Macau or APPEM [leader NA]; Convergencia para o
Desenvolvimento or CODEM [leader NA]; Uniao Geral para o
Desenvolvimento de Macau or UDM [leader NA]; Uniao para o
Desenvolvimento or UPD [leader NA]; Uniao Promotora para o
Progresso or UNIPRO [leader NA]
note: there are no formal political parties,
but civic associations are used instead |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
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] |
| International
organization participation: |
CCC, ESCAP
(associate), IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), UNESCO
(associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
none (special
administrative region of China) |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
the US has no
offices in Macau, and 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
- overview: |
The economy is
based largely on tourism (including gambling) and textile
and fireworks manufacturing. Efforts to diversify have
spawned other small industries - toys, artificial flowers,
and electronics. The tourist sector has accounted for
roughly 25% of GDP, and the clothing industry has provided
about three-fourths of export earnings; the gambling
industry probably represents over 40% of GDP. More than 8
million tourists visited Macau in 2000. Macau depends on
China for most of its food, fresh water, and energy imports.
Japan and Hong Kong are the main suppliers of raw materials
and capital goods. Output dropped 5% in 1998 and 3% in 1999,
with a small 2% gain in 2000. Macau reverted to Chinese
administration on 20 December 1999. Gang violence, a dark
spot in the economy, probably will be reduced in 2000-01 to
the advantage of the tourism sector. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $7.82 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
2% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $17,500 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
1%
industry: 25%
services: 74% (2000 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
-1.8% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
283,450 (1999) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
restaurants and
hotels 26%, manufacturing 22%, other services 52% (2000
est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
6.6% (2000) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$1.26 billion
expenditures: $1.22 billion, including capital
expenditures of $175 million (1999 est.) |
| Industries: |
clothing,
textiles, toys, electronics, footwear, tourism, gambling |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
1.355 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
1.422 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
3 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
165 million kWh
(1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
rice, vegetables |
| Exports: |
$2.6 billion
(f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
textiles,
clothing, toys, electronics, cement, footwear, machinery |
| Exports
- partners: |
US 47%, EU 30%,
China 9.2%, Hong Kong 6.7% (1999) |
| Imports: |
$2.4 billion
(c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
raw materials,
foodstuffs, capital goods, fuels, consumer goods |
| Imports
- partners: |
China 36%, Hong
Kong 18%, EU 13%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 7% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$1.7 billion
(1997) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$NA |
| Exchange
rates: |
patacas per US
dollar - 8.033 (January 2001), 8.025 (2000), 7.990 (1999),
7.978 (1998), 7.974 (1997), 7.966 (1996); note - linked to
the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong
Kong dollar |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
176,837 (2000) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
120,957 (2000) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: fairly modern communication facilities
maintained for domestic and international services
domestic: NA
international: 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: |
0 (receives Hong
Kong broadcasts) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
49,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.mo |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
40,000 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
50 km
paved: 50 km
unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
| Merchant
marine: |
none (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Macau garrison of
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes about 500
troops |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 125,737 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 69,191 (2001 est.) |
| Military
- note: |
responsibility
for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
