Macau (2001) | Nauru (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
22.68% (male 53,291; female 49,615) 15-64 years: 70.08% (male 150,538; female 167,431) 65 years and over: 7.24% (male 13,287; female 19,571) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.2% (male 2,516; female 2,372)
15-64 years: 60% (male 3,782; female 3,898) 65 years and over: 1.9% (male 128; female 113) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, vegetables | coconuts |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
21 sq km land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.61 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.26 billion expenditures: $1.22 billion, including capital expenditures of $175 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | - | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 40 km | 30 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" | 29 January 1968 |
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) |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | pataca (MOP) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 3.71 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.7 billion (1997) | $33.3 million (2002) |
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 | the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) (2000 est.) |
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. More than 8 million tourists visited Macau in 2000. 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 5% in 1998 and 3% in 1999, with a small 2% gain in 2000. Macau reverted to Chinese administration on 20 December 1999. Gang violence, a dark spot in the economy, probably will be reduced in 2000-01 to the advantage of the tourism sector. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are now depleted. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. In 2004 the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat has substantially mounted. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.422 billion kWh (1999) | 27.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 3 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 165 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.355 billion kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m highest point: Coloane Alto 174 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | patacas per US dollar - 8.033 (January 2001), 8.025 (2000), 7.990 (1999), 7.978 (1998), 7.974 (1997), 7.966 (1996); note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.2641 (2002) 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999) |
Executive branch | 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: NA |
chief of state: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president |
Exports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | textiles, clothing, toys, electronics, cement, footwear, machinery | phosphates |
Exports - partners | US 47%, EU 30%, China 9.2%, Hong Kong 6.7% (1999) | Japan 42.3%, India 38.5%, South Korea 7.7% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.82 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1% industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 22 10 N, 113 33 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Highways | total:
50 km paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | offshore banking recently stopped, remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime |
Imports | $2.4 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods, fuels, consumer goods | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | China 36%, Hong Kong 18%, EU 13%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 7% (1999) | Australia 67.9%, Indonesia 10.7%, US 7.1% (2003) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | clothing, textiles, toys, electronics, footwear, tourism, gambling | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 10.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -1.8% (2000 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 283,450 (1999) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 22%, other services 52% (2000 est.) | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | total:
0.34 km border countries: China 0.34 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 98% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
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)
elections: last held 22 September 1996 (next to be held by 15 October 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - APPEM 2, UNIPRO 2, CODEM 1, UDM 1, UPD 1, ANMD 1 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
81.69 years male: 78.88 years female: 84.64 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 62.33 years
male: 58.78 years female: 66.06 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90% male: 93% female: 86% (1981 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | not specified | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | none |
Military - note | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Macau garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes about 500 troops | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
125,737 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 3,275 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
69,191 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,810 (2004 est.) |
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 | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Chinese adjective: Chinese |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | typhoons | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | NEGL | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | 9.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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 [leader NA]; Associacao Promotora para a Economia de Macau or APPEM [leader NA]; Convergencia para o Desenvolvimento or CODEM [leader NA]; Uniao Geral para o Desenvolvimento de Macau or UDM [leader NA]; Uniao para o Desenvolvimento or UPD [leader NA]; Uniao Promotora para o Progresso or UNIPRO [leader NA]
note: there are no formal political parties, but civic associations are used instead |
loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA] |
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] | NA |
Population | 453,733 (July 2001 est.) | 12,809 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.79% (2001 est.) | 1.87% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Macau | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 160,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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 | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 176,837 (2000) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 120,957 (2000) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.29 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.6% (2000) | 0% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |