Andorra (2001) | Macau (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 parishes (parroquies, singular - parroquia); Andorra la Vella, Canillo, Encamp, La Massana, Escaldes-Engordany, Ordino, Sant Julia de Loria | none (special administrative region of China) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
15.29% (male 5,425; female 4,917) 15-64 years: 72.06% (male 25,654; female 23,078) 65 years and over: 12.65% (male 4,299; female 4,254) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 21.8% (male 52,262; female 48,439)
15-64 years: 70.9% (male 154,942; female 172,647) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 13,616; female 19,927) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | small quantities of tobacco, rye, wheat, barley, oats, vegetables; sheep | rice, vegetables |
Airports | none (2000 est.) | 1 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total:
468 sq km land: 468 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 25.4 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Long isolated and impoverished, mountainous Andorra has achieved considerable prosperity since World War II through its tourist industry. Many immigrants (legal and illegal) are attracted to the thriving economy with its lack of income taxes. | 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. |
Birth rate | 10.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.19 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$385 million expenditures: $342 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $1.15 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $166 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Andorra la Vella | - |
Climate | temperate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 41 km |
Constitution | Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in 1991; approved by referendum 14 March 1993; came into force 4 May 1993 | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" |
Country name | conventional long form:
Principality of Andorra conventional short form: Andorra local long form: Principat d'Andorra local short form: Andorra |
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) |
Currency | French franc (FRF); Spanish peseta (ESP); euro (EUR) | pataca (MOP) |
Death rate | 5.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.5 billion (1998) |
Dependency status | - | special administrative region of China |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Andorra; the US Ambassador to Spain is accredited to Andorra; US interests in Andorra are represented by the Consulate General's office in Barcelona (Spain); mailing address: Paseo Reina Elisenda, 23, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; telephone: (3493) 280-2227; FAX: (3493) 205-7705 | 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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 2 United Nations Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 750-8064 FAX: [1] (212) 750-6630 |
none (special administrative region of China) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | none | $NA |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny, well-to-do economy, accounts for roughly 80% of GDP. An estimated 9 million tourists visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free status and by its summer and winter resorts. Andorra's comparative advantage has recently eroded as the economies of neighboring France and Spain have been opened up, providing broader availability of goods and lower tariffs. The banking sector, with its "tax haven" status, also contributes substantially to the economy. Agricultural production is limited by a scarcity of arable land, and most food has to be imported. The principal livestock activity is sheep raising. Manufacturing output consists mainly of cigarettes, cigars, and furniture. Andorra is a member of the EU Customs Union and is treated as an EU member for trade in manufactured goods (no tariffs) and as a non-EU member for agricultural products. | Macau's economy two years after reversion to China remains one of the most open in the world, according to the World Trade Organization. The government collects no duty on imports and sets no restrictions on exports beyond those required by international agreements. The territory's net exports of goods and services account for 35% of GDP, with tourism and apparel exports as the mainstays. The territory therefore has been hit hard by the 2001 downturn in its key US and EU export markets. Tourism remained strong, however, driven by a surge in visitors from mainland China. In response to the expected contraction of the economy in 2002, the government has announced a stimulative income tax cut and public works program that will push the budget into deficit. China already has extended support by easing restrictions on travel to Macau and is proposing a China-Hong Kong-Macau free trade area. China's economic weight is increasingly felt, with the mainland now holding more than 50% of assets in the financial, real estate, and construction sectors. Mainlanders, however, have been excluded from bidding on the gambling industry licenses that Macau is offering to break up the territory's four-decade-old gambling monopoly. Gambling taxes account for up to 60% of revenue, and the government with Beijing's backing intends to revitalize the industry. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 1.476 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | NA kWh | 1 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh
note: most electricity supplied by Spain and France; Andorra generates a small amount of hydropower |
175 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | - | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Riu Runer 840 m highest point: Coma Pedrosa 2,946 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing of mountain meadows contributes to soil erosion; air pollution; wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Hazardous Wastes signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Spanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%, other 6% (1998) | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996); Spanish pesetas per US dollar - 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997), 126.66 (1996) | patacas per US dollar - 8.033 (January 2002), 8.034 (2001), 8.026 (2000), 7.992 (1999), 7.979 (1998), 7.975 (1997); note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar |
Executive branch | chief of state:
French Coprince Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by Frederic de SAINT-SERNIN (since NA); Spanish Coprince Episcopal Monseigneur Joan MARTI Alanis (since 31 January 1971), represented by Nemesi MARQUES OSTE (since NA) head of government: Executive Council President Marc FORNE Molne (since 21 December 1994) cabinet: Executive Council or Govern designated by the Executive Council president elections: Executive Council president elected by the General Council and formally appointed by the coprinces for a four-year term; election last held 16 February 1997 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: Marc FORNE Molne elected executive council president; percent of General Council vote - 64% |
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: chief executive chosen by a 200-member selection committee for up to two five-year terms |
Exports | $58 million (f.o.b., 1998) | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | tobacco products, furniture | clothing, textiles, cement, electronics, cameras |
Exports - partners | France 34%, Spain 58% (1998) | US 48%, EU 28%, China 10%, Hong Kong 7% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red with the national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; the coat of arms features a quartered shield; similar to the flags of Chad and Romania, which do not have a national coat of arms in the center, and the flag of Moldova, which does bear a national emblem | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (1996 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $18,000 (1996 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 0.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 30 N, 1 30 E | 22 10 N, 113 33 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland |
Highways | total:
269 km paved: 198 km unpaved: 71 km (1994 est.) |
total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $1.077 billion (c.i.f., 1998) | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, food, electricity | clothing, textiles, yarn, minerals, electrical machinery, fuel, livestock |
Imports - partners | Spain 48%, France 35%, US 2.3% (1998) | China 41%, Hong Kong 15%, EU 10%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 6% (2000) |
Independence | 1278 (was formed under the joint suzerainty of France and Spain) | none (special administrative region of China) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism (particularly skiing), cattle raising, timber, tobacco, banking | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys |
Infant mortality rate | 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.62% (1998) | -2% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, CE, ECE, ICAO, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN, UNESCO, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Tribunal of Judges or Tribunal de Batlles; Tribunal of the Courts or Tribunal de Corts; Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra or Tribunal Superior de Justicia d'Andorra; Supreme Council of Justice or Consell Superior de la Justicia; Fiscal Ministry or Ministeri Fiscal; Constitutional Tribunal or Tribunal Constitucional | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region |
Labor force | 30,787 salaried employees (1998) | 218,000 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 21%, services 78% (1998) | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 54% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
120.3 km border countries: France 56.6 km, Spain 63.7 km |
total: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km |
Land use | arable land:
4% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 45% forests and woodland: 35% other: 16% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Catalan (official), French, Castilian | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) |
Legal system | based on French and Spanish civil codes; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Portuguese civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council of the Valleys or Consell General de las Valls (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, 14 from a single national constituency and 14 to represent each of the 7 parishes; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 February 1997 (next to be held NA February 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - UL 57%, AND 21%, IDN 7%, ND 7%, other 8%; seats by party - UL 16, AND 6, ND 2, IDN 2, UPO 2 |
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 NA 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
83.47 years male: 80.57 years female: 86.57 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 81.78 years
male: 78.97 years female: 84.73 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90% male: 93% female: 86% (1981 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | not specified |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France and Spain | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 |
Military branches | - | no regular indigenous military forces; responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there is a local police force |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 128,005 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 70,508 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Our Lady of Meritxell Day, 8 September (1278) | 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 |
Nationality | noun:
Andorran(s) adjective: Andorran |
noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
Natural hazards | snowslides, avalanches | typhoons |
Natural resources | hydropower, mineral water, timber, iron ore, lead | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 6.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Liberal Union or UL [Marc Forne MOLNE] (renamed Liberal Party of Andorra or PLA); National Democratic Group or AND [Ladislau BARO SOLA]; National Democratic Initiative or IDN [Vincenc MATEU Zamora]; New Democracy or ND [Jaume BARTOMEU Cassany]; Union of the People of Ordino (Unio Parroquial d'Ordino) or UPO [Simo DURO Coma]
note: there are two other small parties |
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 | NA | 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] |
Population | 67,627 (July 2001 est.) | 461,833 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.17% (2001 est.) | 1.75% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Macau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 15, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 16,000 (1997) | 160,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic (predominant) | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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 |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: modern system with microwave radio relay connections between exchanges international: landline circuits to France and Spain |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 32,946 (December 1998) | 176,902 (November 2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14,117 (December 1998) | 158,251 (November 2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) |
Terrain | rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys | generally flat |
Total fertility rate | 1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 6.5% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |