Macau (2001) | Netherlands Antilles (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
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: 23.6% (male 27,020/female 25,726)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 72,449/female 78,259) 65 years and over: 9% (male 8,243/female 11,955) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, vegetables | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 5 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total:
21 sq km land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 960 sq km
land: 960 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | more than five 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. | Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Saint Martin is shared with France; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern portion, called Saint Martin, is an overseas collectivity of France. |
Birth rate | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.26 billion expenditures: $1.22 billion, including capital expenditures of $175 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $757.9 million
expenditures: $949.5 million (2004) |
Capital | - | name: Willemstad (on Curacao)
geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 68 56 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers | tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 40 km | 364 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended |
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: none
conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies |
Currency | pataca (MOP) | - |
Death rate | 3.71 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.7 billion (1997) | $2.68 billion (2004) |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs |
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 | chief of mission: Consul General Robert E. SORENSON
consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 4613066 FAX: [599] (9) 4616489 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - Mr. Jeffrey CORRION, Minister Plenipotentiary for Aruba at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $21.32 million
note: IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004) |
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. | Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined or grown slightly in each of the past eight years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with other countries in the region. Most of the oil Netherlands Antilles imports for its refineries come from Venezuela. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, the US and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. Budgetary problems hamper reform of the health and pension systems of an aging population. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.422 billion kWh (1999) | 891 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 3 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 165 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.355 billion kWh (1999) | 1.175 billion kWh (2005) |
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: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other | mixed black 85%, other 15% (includes Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian) |
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 | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - NA (2007), 1.79 (2006), 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003) |
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: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980); represented by Governor General Frits GOEDGEDRAG (since 1 July 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE (since 26 March 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten (legislature) elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held by 2010) note: government coalition - PAR, PNP, DP-St. M, UPB, WIPM Saba, DP-St. E |
Exports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 217,800 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | textiles, clothing, toys, electronics, cement, footwear, machinery | petroleum products |
Exports - partners | US 47%, EU 30%, China 9.2%, Hong Kong 6.7% (1999) | US 27.2%, Panama 11.4%, Mexico 9%, Germany 6.2%, Haiti 5.3%, Singapore 4.8%, Bahamas, The 4.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.82 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1% industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 10 N, 113 33 E | 12 15 N, 68 45 W |
Geography - note | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland | the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles are divided geographically into the Leeward Islands (northern) group (Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) and the Windward Islands (southern) group (Bonaire and Curacao); the island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the World shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten |
Highways | 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 | - | transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe; money-laundering center |
Imports | $2.4 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | 282,500 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods, fuels, consumer goods | crude petroleum, food, manufactures |
Imports - partners | China 36%, Hong Kong 18%, EU 13%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 7% (1999) | Venezuela 71.1%, US 10.4%, Italy 3.7% (2006) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | clothing, textiles, toys, electronics, footwear, tourism, gambling | tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) |
Infant mortality rate | 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 9.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -1.8% (2000 est.) | 2.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | Caricom (observer), ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 283,450 (1999) | 83,600 (2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 22%, other services 52% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 1%
industry: 20% services: 79% (2005 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
0.34 km border countries: China 0.34 km |
total: 15 km
border countries: Saint Martin 15 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 98% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (2005) |
Languages | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) | Papiamento 65.4% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English 15.9% (widely spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other 1.9%, unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system | based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence |
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 States or Staten (22 seats, Curacao 14, Bonaire 3, St. Maarten 3, St. Eustatius 1, Saba 1; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAR 5, MAN 3, FOL 2, Forsa Korsou 2, National Alliance 2, PNP 2, UPB 2, DP-St. E 1, DP-St. M 1, PDB 1, WIPM 1 note: the government is a coalition of several parties |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
81.69 years male: 78.88 years female: 84.64 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.24 years
male: 73.96 years female: 78.65 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90% male: 93% female: 86% (1981 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.7% male: 96.7% female: 96.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - composed of five islands, Curacao and Bonaire located off the coast of Venezuela, and Sint Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius lie east of the US Virgin Islands |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | not specified | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 138 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,096,005 GRT/1,437,692 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 4, cargo 70, carrier 12, chemical tanker 3, container 10, liquefied gas 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 25, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 125 (Belgium 1, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 48, Netherlands 53, Norway 5, Sweden 3, Turkey 12, US 1) (2007) |
Military - note | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Military branches | Macau garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes about 500 troops | no regular military forces; National Guard (2008) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
125,737 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
69,191 (2001 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 | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980) |
Nationality | noun:
Chinese adjective: Chinese |
noun: Dutch Antillean(s)
adjective: Dutch Antillean |
Natural hazards | typhoons | Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October |
Natural resources | NEGL | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) |
Net migration rate | 9.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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 |
Bonaire: Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramonsito BOOI]
Curacao: Ban Vota [Norbert GEORGE]; C-93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; E Mayoria [Aurelio PEDRO]; Forsa Korsou [Nelson NAVARRO]; Liste Ni'un Paso Atras [Nelson PIERRE]; Movemiento Patriotiko Korsou [Reginald LAK]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Charles COOPER]; Partido Akshon Pa Prosperidat I Seguridat [Sonja BERKEMEYER]; Partido Laboral Krusada Popular or PLKP [Errol COVA]; Party for the Restructured Antilles or PAR [Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE]; People's National Party or PNP [Ersilia DE LANNOOY]; Pidjin [Jasmin PINEDO]; Pueblo Soberano [Herman WIELS]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT] Saba: Saba Labor Party [Akilah LEVENSTONE]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Ray HASSELL] Sint Eustatius: Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Progressive Labor Party [Clyde VAN PUTTEN]; St. Eustatius Alliance [Ingrid HOUTMAN-WHITFIELD] Sint Maarten: Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Freedom Slate of National Democratic Party [Theophilus PRIEST]; National Alliance or NA [William MARLIN]; People's Progressive Alliance or PPA [Gracita ARRINDELL]; St. Maarten People's Party [Johan LEONARD]; United People's Labor Party [Bienvenido RICHARDSON] note: political parties are indigenous to each island |
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] | Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC) |
Population | 453,733 (July 2001 est.) | 223,652 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.79% (2001 est.) | 0.777% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Macau | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2003) |
Radios | 160,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic 72%, Pentecostal 4.9%, Protestant 3.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, Methodist 2.9%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7%, other Christian 4.2%, Jewish 1.3%, other or unspecified 1.2%, none 5.2% (2001 census) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.926 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.929 male(s)/female (2007 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 | 18 years of age; universal |
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: generally adequate facilities
domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: country code - 599; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the Americas-2 submarine cable systems provide connectivity to Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 176,837 (2000) | 81,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 120,957 (2000) | 200,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) | 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and 4 Venezuelan channels) (2003) |
Terrain | generally flat | generally hilly, volcanic interiors |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.6% (2000) | 17% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |