Macau (2001) | Nicaragua (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas |
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: 37.2% (male 1,036,487/female 999,226)
15-64 years: 59.7% (male 1,623,065/female 1,638,017) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 73,935/female 94,370) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, vegetables | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 176 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
21 sq km land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
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. | The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. |
Birth rate | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.26 billion expenditures: $1.22 billion, including capital expenditures of $175 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $725.5 million
expenditures: $1.039 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | - | Managua |
Climate | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 40 km | 910 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
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 Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | pataca (MOP) | - |
Death rate | 3.71 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.7 billion (1997) | $4.573 billion (2004 est.) |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-9074 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $541.8 million (2003) |
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. | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs. As a result of successful performance under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts, Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Even after this reduction, however, the government continues to bear a significant foreign and domestic debt burden. If ratified, the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. While President BOLANOS enjoys the support of the international financial bodies, his internal political base is meager. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.422 billion kWh (1999) | 2.318 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 3 million kWh (1999) | 6.8 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 165 million kWh (1999) | 15.3 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.355 billion kWh (1999) | 2.553 billion kWh (2002) |
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: Mogoton 2,438 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
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 | gold cordobas per US dollar - 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001), 12.684 (2000) |
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 Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PCN) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
Exports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 738 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | textiles, clothing, toys, electronics, cement, footwear, machinery | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts |
Exports - partners | US 47%, EU 30%, China 9.2%, Hong Kong 6.7% (1999) | US 64.8%, El Salvador 7%, Mexico 3.6% (2004) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.82 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1% industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 20.7%
industry: 24.7% services: 54.6% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 4% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 10 N, 113 33 E | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Highways | total:
50 km paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
total: 18,712 km
paved: 2,126 km unpaved: 16,586 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 45% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | $2.4 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | 27,950 bbl/day (2003) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods, fuels, consumer goods | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | China 36%, Hong Kong 18%, EU 13%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 7% (1999) | US 22.6%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Venezuela 8.4%, Guatemala 6.8%, Mexico 5.8%, El Salvador 4.9%, South Korea 4.5% (2004) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | clothing, textiles, toys, electronics, footwear, tourism, gambling | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 29.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -1.8% (2000 est.) | 9.3% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 880 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 283,450 (1999) | 1.93 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 22%, other services 52% (2000 est.) | agriculture 30.5%, industry 17.3%, services 52.2% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
0.34 km border countries: China 0.34 km |
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 98% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 15.94%
permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
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 National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; one seat for previous President, one seat for runner-up in previous Presidential election
elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PCCN, PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCN 2.12%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PCN 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
81.69 years male: 78.88 years female: 84.64 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.33 years
male: 68.27 years female: 72.49 years (2005 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: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | not specified | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 | - |
Military branches | Macau garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes about 500 troops | Army (includes Navy, Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $32.8 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.7% (2004) |
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 | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Chinese adjective: Chinese |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | typhoons | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | NEGL | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 9.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 54 km (2004) |
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 |
Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [leader NA]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [leader NA]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [leader NA]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [leader NA]; Unity Alliance or AU [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] | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 453,733 (July 2001 est.) | 5,465,100 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.79% (2001 est.) | 1.92% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Macau | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 160,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 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 | 16 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: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 176,837 (2000) | 171,600 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 120,957 (2000) | 202,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.81 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.6% (2000) | 7.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997) |