 Definition  Field Listing  Rank
Order
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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. Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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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.) Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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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 five government secretaries, three legislators, and
two businessmen
elections: chief executive chosen by a
300-member selection committee for up to two five-year terms
election results: Edmond 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
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|
Legislative branch: |
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)
elections: last held 23 September
2001 (next to be held 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 |
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Judicial branch: |
The Court of
Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region |
|
Political parties and leaders: |
there are no
formal political parties, however, there are civic associations
that, for purposes of legislative voting, join together to form
political blocs |
|
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] |
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International organization participation: |
IMO
(associate), Interpol (sub-bureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO
(associate), WCO, 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; US interests are monitored by the US Consulate
General in Hong Kong |
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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 Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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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) |
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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 11.7%, Germany 8.6%, Hong Kong 7.5% (2003 est.) |
|
Imports: |
$2.53 billion
c.i.f. (2002) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
clothing,
textiles, yarn, foodstuffs, fuel, automobiles, capital goods |
|
Imports - partners: |
China 39.8%,
Hong Kong 21.5%, Chile 8.3%, Taiwan 5.3%, Japan 4.8% (2003 est.)
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Debt - external: |
$121 million
(2001 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient: |
NA (1997)
|
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Currency: |
pataca (MOP)
|
|
Currency code: |
MOP |
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Exchange rates: |
patacas per
US dollar - 8.0212 (2003), 8.0334 (2002), 8.0335 (2001), 8.0259
(2000), 7.9919 (1999) |
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Fiscal year: |
calendar
year Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Disputes - international: |
none
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Large portions of this information is from the US government open source publication "The World Factbook", other content copyright © Stratus-Pikpuk, Inc. You may use this information without permission for educational or other non-profit purposes if you refer to us as the source, contact us if you want to use this commercially.
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