2000 Edition

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.

Area

land

21 sq km

total

21 sq km

water

0 sq km

Area - comparative

about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Climate

subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

Coastline

40 km

Elevation extremes

highest point

Coloane Alto 174 m

lowest point

South China Sea 0 m

Environment - current issues

NA

Geographic coordinates

22 10 N, 113 33 E

Geography - note

essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

border countries

China 0.34 km

total

0.34 km

Land use

arable land

0%

forests and woodland

0%

other

98% (1998 est.)

permanent crops

2%

permanent pastures

0%

Location

Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Map references

Southeast Asia

Maritime claims

not specified

Natural hazards

NA

Natural resources

NEGL

Terrain

generally flat

Age structure

0-14 years: 23% (male 53,986; female 50,379) 15-64 years: 69% (male 146,474; female 162,672) 65 years and over: 8% (male 12,932; female 19,151) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

12.54 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

3.64 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other

Infant mortality rate

4.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese)

Life expectancy at birth

female

84.55 years (2000 est.)

male

78.8 years

total population

81.6 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

86% (1981 est.)

male

93%

total population

90%

Nationality

adjective

Chinese

noun

Chinese

Net migration rate

9.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

445,594 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

1.83% (2000 est.)

Religions

Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 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 (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.3 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Administrative divisions

none (special administrative region of China)

Constitution

Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution"

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)

Data code

MC

Dependency status

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

Diplomatic representation in the US

none (special administrative region of China)

Executive branch

cabinet

Executive Council consists of all five government secretaries, three legislators, and two businessmen

chief of state

President of China JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993)

elections

NA

head of government

Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999)

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

Government type

NA

Independence

none (special administrative region of China)

International organization participation

CCC, ESCAP (associate), IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO

Judicial branch

The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region

Legal system

based on Portuguese civil law system

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)

election results

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APPEM 2, UNIPRO 2, CODEM 1, UDM 1, UPD 1, ANMD 1

elections

last held 22 September 1996 (next to be held by 15 October 2001)

National holiday

National Day, 1-2 October; note - 20 December 1999 is celebrated as Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day

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 ; Associacao Promotora para a Economia de Macau or APPEM ; Convergencia para o Desenvolvimento or CODEM ; Uniao Geral para o Desenvolvimento de Macau or UDM ; Uniao para o Desenvolvimento or UPD ; Uniao Promotora para o Progresso or UNIPRO

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]

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

Agriculture - products

rice, vegetables

Budget

expenditures

$1.34 billion, including capital expenditures of $260 million (1998 est.)

revenues

$1.34 billion

Currency

1 pataca (P) = 100 avos

Debt - external

$1.7 billion (1997)

Economic aid - recipient

$NA

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. 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 4% in 1998 and the economy remained weak in 1999. Macau reverted to Chinese administration on 20 December 1999. Gang violence, a dark spot in the economy, probably will be reduced in 2000 to the advantage of the tourism sector.

Electricity - consumption

1.42 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

1 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

175 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

1.34 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

100%

hydro

0%

nuclear

0%

other

0% (1998)

Exchange rates

patacas (P) per US$1 - 8.01 (January 2000), 7.99 (1999), 7.98 (1998), 7.99 (1997), 7.962 (1996), 8.034 (1993-95); note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar

Exports

$1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities

textiles, clothing, toys, electronics, cement, footwear, machinery

Exports - partners

US 48%, EU 31%, Hong Kong 8%, China 7% (1998)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $7.65 billion (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

1%

industry

40%

services

59% (1997)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $17,500 (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

-4% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1999)

Imports - commodities

raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods, fuels, consumer goods

Imports - partners

China 33%, Hong Kong 24%, EU 11%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 8% (1998)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

clothing, textiles, toys, electronics, footwear, tourism, gambling

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

-3% (1999 est.)

Labor force

281,117 (1998)

Labor force - by occupation

industry 31%, restaurants and hotels 28%, other services 41%

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

6.9% (1999)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

NA

Radio broadcast stations

AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios

160,000 (1997)

Telephone system

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)

Telephones - main lines in use

222,500 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular

55,000 (1998)

Television broadcast stations

0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997)

Televisions

49,000 (1997)

Airports

1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

1 over 3,047 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

50 km

total

50 km

unpaved

0 km (1996 est.)

Merchant marine

none (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors

Macau

Railways

0 km

Military - note

responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999

Military branches

Macau garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes about 500 troops

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 123,581 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 67,974 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

none

MACEDONIA

MADAGASCAR