Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2003) - Macau (2008)

Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2003) z Macau (2008)

	Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2003)	Macau (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	none (special administrative region of China)
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 15.4% (male 36,413/female 33,981) 15-64 years: 76.6% (male 166,797/female 183,088) 65 years and over: 8% (male 15,541/female 21,169) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	only 2% of land area is cultivated, mainly by vegetable growers; fishing, mostly for crustaceans, is important; some of the catch is exported to Hong Kong
Airports	-	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 5 sq km land: 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island	total: 28.2 sq km land: 28.2 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	less than one-sixth the size of Washington, DC
Background	These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983, it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, is now a marine reserve.	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. In this agreement, 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.
Birth rate	-	8.57 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $4.6 billion expenditures: $3.4 billion (2006)
Climate	tropical	subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers
Coastline	74.1 km	41 km
Constitution	-	Basic Law, approved on 31 March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution"
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands	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)
Death rate	-	4.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$0 (2006)
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services	special administrative region of China
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	the US has no offices in Macau; US Consulate General in Hong Kong is accredited to Macau
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (special administrative region of China)
Disputes - international	nationalist group in Indonesia reportedly seeks to populate reefs to assert claims; Australia has moved to close reefs to Indonesian traditional fishing and to create a national park while prospecting for hydrocarbons in the vicinity	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$13.7 million (2004)
Economy - overview	no economic activity	Macau's economy has enjoyed strong growth in recent years on the back of its expanding tourism and gaming sectors. Since opening up its locally-controlled casino industry to foreign competition in 2001, the territory has attracted 10s of billions of dollars in foreign investment that have helped transform it into the world's largest gaming center. In 2006, Macau's gaming revenue surpassed that of the Las Vegas strip, and gaming-related taxes accounted for 75% of total government revenue. The expanding casino sector, and China's decision beginning in 2002 to relax travel restrictions, have reenergized Macau's tourism industry, which saw total visitors grow to 27 million in 2007, up 62% in three years. Macau's strong economic growth has put pressure its labor market prompting businesses to look abroad to meet their staffing needs. The resulting influx of non-resident workers, who totaled one-fifth of the workforce in 2006, has fueled tensions among some segments of the population. Macau's traditional manufacturing industry has been in a slow decline. In 2006, exports of textiles and garments generated only $1.8 billion compared to $6.9 billion in gross gaming receipts. Macau's textile industry will continue to move to the mainland because of the termination in 2005 of the Multi-Fiber Agreement, which provided a near guarantee of export markets, leaving the territory more dependent on gambling and trade-related services to generate growth. However, 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. Macau's currency, the Pataca, is closely tied to the Hong Kong dollar, which is also freely accepted in the territory.
Electricity - consumption	-	2.37 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2006)
Electricity - imports	-	964.4 million kWh (2006)
Electricity - production	-	1.67 billion kWh (2006)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 3 m	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m
Environment - current issues	NA	NA
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member)
Ethnic groups	-	Chinese 95.7%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry) 1%, other 3.3% (2001 census)
Exchange rates	-	patacas per US dollar - 8.011 (2007), 8.0015 (2006), 8.011 (2005), 8.022 (2004), 8.021 (2003)
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, three legislators, four businessmen, one pro-Beijing unionist, and one pro-Beijing educator elections: chief executive chosen by a 300-member Election Committee for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Edmund HO Hau-wah reelected received 296 votes; three members submitted blank ballots; one member was absent
Exports	-	21 bbl/day (2005)
Exports - commodities	-	clothing, textiles, footwear, toys, electronics, machinery and parts
Exports - partners	-	US 44.1%, China 14.8%, Hong Kong 11.3%, Germany 7.3%, UK 4.1% (2006)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	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 - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 0.1% industry: 3.9% services: 96% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	16.6% (2006)
Geographic coordinates	12 14 S, 123 05 E	22 10 N, 113 33 E
Geography - note	Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983	essentially urban; an area of land reclaimed from the sea measuring 5.2 sq km and known as Cotai now connects the islands of Coloane and Taipa; the island area is connected to the mainland peninsula by three bridges
Heliports	-	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for drugs going into mainland China; consumer of opiates and amphetamines
Imports	-	13,870 bbl/day (2006)
Imports - commodities	-	raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, consumer goods (foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco), capital goods, mineral fuels and oils
Imports - partners	-	China 45.2%, Hong Kong 10.2%, Japan 8.4%, US 5.5%, Singapore 4.1%, France 4% (2006)
Independence	-	none (special administrative region of China)
Industrial production growth rate	-	3.8%
Industries	-	tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	7.2% (2006)
International organization participation	-	IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	NA
Judicial branch	-	Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region
Labor force	-	275,000 (2006)
Labor force - by occupation	-	manufacturing 11.1%, construction 11.7%, transport and communications 6.3%, wholesale and retail trade 13.7%, restaurants and hotels 11.3%, gambling 19.8%, public sector 7.7%, financial services 2.6%, other services and agriculture 15.7% (2006)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 0.34 km regional border: China 0.34 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand) (1998 est.)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	-	Cantonese 87.9%, Hokkien 4.4%, Mandarin 1.6%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 3% (2001 census)
Legal system	the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia and the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply	based on Portuguese civil law system
Legislative branch	-	unicameral Legislative Assembly (29 seats; 12 members elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 September 2005 (next in September 2009) election results: percent of vote - New Democratic Macau Association 18.8%, Macau United Citizens' Association 16.6%, Union for Development 13.3%, Union for Promoting Progress 9.6%, Macau Development Alliance 9.3%, others 32.4%; seats by political group - New Democratic Macau Association 2, Macau United Citizens' Association 2, Union for Development 2, Union for Promoting Progress 2, Macau Development Alliance 1, others 3; 10 seats filled by professional and business groups; seven members appointed by chief executive
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 82.27 years male: 79.44 years female: 85.25 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.3% male: 95.3% female: 87.8% (2001 census)
Location	Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia, south of the Indonesian half of Timor island	Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Map references	Southeast Asia	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	contiguous zone: 12 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	not specified
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force	defense is the responsibility of China
Military branches	-	no regular military forces
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
Nationality	-	noun: Chinese adjective: Chinese
Natural hazards	surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards	typhoons
Natural resources	fish	NEGL
Net migration rate	-	4.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
People - note	the landing of illegal immigrants from Indonesia's Rote Island has become an ongoing problem	-
Political parties and leaders	-	Civil Service Union [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO]; Development Union [KWAN Tsui-hang]; Macau Development Alliance [Angela LEONG On-kei]; Macau United Citizens' Association [CHAN Meng-kam]; New Democratic Macau Association [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]; United Forces note: there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	NA
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: Indonesian fishermen are allowed access to the lagoon and fresh water at Ashmore Reef's West Island (July 2003 est.)	456,989 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	0.841% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	none; offshore anchorage only	-
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	-	Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.072 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.911 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.734 male(s)/female total population: 0.918 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	-	direct election 18 years of age for some non-executive positions, 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: fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services domestic: termination of monopoly over mobile-cellular telephone services in 2001 spurred sharp increase in subscriptions with mobile-cellular teledensity approaching 140 per 100 persons in 2006; fixed-line teledensity about 40 per 100 persons international: country code - 853; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; HF radiotelephone communication facility; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	178,013 (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	794,323 (2007)
Television broadcast stations	-	1 (2006)
Terrain	low with sand and coral	generally flat
Total fertility rate	-	1.03 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	3.1% (2006)
Waterways	none	-

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