Barbados (2002) | Macau (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status | none (special administrative region of China) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.4% (male 29,888; female 29,338)
15-64 years: 69.8% (male 94,214; female 98,811) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,378; female 14,978) (2002 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 | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | rice, vegetables |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 1 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 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 | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. | 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 | 13.32 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.19 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.15 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $166 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Bridgetown | - |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 97 km | 41 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
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 | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | pataca (MOP) |
Death rate | 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $425 million | $1.5 billion (1998) |
Dependency status | - | special administrative region of China |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Earl N. PHILLIPS, Jr.
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246 |
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 Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
none (special administrative region of China) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2001 due to slowdowns in tourism and consumer spending. Growth will remain anemic in 2002 with a recovery likely near the end of the year. | 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 | 688.2 million kWh (2000) | 1.476 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 175 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 740 million kWh (2000) | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
- |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) | 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Billie MILLER (since 6 September 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
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 | $272 million (2000) | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing | clothing, textiles, cement, electronics, cameras |
Exports - partners | Caribbean Community 43.2%, US 15.3%, UK 13.2% (2000) | US 48%, EU 28%, China 10%, Hong Kong 7% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) | 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 - $4 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -2% (2001 est.) | 0.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 22 10 N, 113 33 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland |
Highways | total: 1,650 km
paved: 1,628 km unpaved: 22 km (1998) |
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% |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | - |
Imports | $1.16 billion (2000) | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | clothing, textiles, yarn, minerals, electrical machinery, fuel, livestock |
Imports - partners | US 40.8%, Caribbean Community 19.8%, UK 8.1%, Japan 5.2%, Canada 4.2% (2000) | China 41%, Hong Kong 15%, EU 10%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 6% (2000) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | none (special administrative region of China) |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys |
Infant mortality rate | 11.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2001 est.) | -2% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | 218,000 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 54% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on Portuguese civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 20 January 1999 (next to be held by January 2004) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 26, DLP 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: 73.49 years
male: 70.9 years female: 76.12 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 81.78 years
male: 78.97 years female: 84.73 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90% male: 93% female: 86% (1981 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
not specified |
Merchant marine | total: 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 629,987 GRT/1,073,991 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 26, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bahamas, The 1, Canada 4, Germany 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 7, Norway 7, United Kingdom 18 (2002 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force (including Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force | no regular indigenous military forces; responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there is a local police force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 78,132 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 128,005 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 53,532 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 70,508 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | 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: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Richard HAYNES] | 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 | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] | 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 | 276,607 (July 2002 est.) | 461,833 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.46% (2002 est.) | 1.75% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) | Macau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 237,000 (1997) | 160,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2002 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: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
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 | 108,000 (1997) | 176,902 (November 2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,013 (1997) | 158,251 (November 2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | generally flat |
Total fertility rate | 1.64 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2001 est.) | 6.5% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |