Macau (2002) | Benin (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 46.8% (male 1,711,075; female 1,679,439)
15-64 years: 51% (male 1,802,990; female 1,890,915) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 68,890; female 96,724) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, vegetables | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 5 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 25.4 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
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. | Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. |
Birth rate | 12.19 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 42.57 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.15 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $166 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $698.9 million
expenditures: $613.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
Capital | - | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government |
Climate | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 41 km | 121 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" | December 1990 |
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 Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
Currency | pataca (MOP) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1998) | $1.6 billion (2000) |
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 Wayne NEILL
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50 FAX: [229] 30-06-70 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN
chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
Disputes - international | none | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and ICJ ad hoc judges have been selected to rule on disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Nigeria; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $342.6 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | 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. | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.476 billion kWh (2000) | 631.1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 175 million kWh (2000) | 376 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) | 274.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 |
Exchange rates | 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 | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (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: chief executive chosen by a 200-member selection committee for up to two five-year terms |
chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
Exports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | clothing, textiles, cement, electronics, cameras | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US 48%, EU 28%, China 10%, Hong Kong 7% (2000) | China 21.1%, India 18%, Thailand 6.8%, Ghana 5.8%, Niger 4.4%, Indonesia 4.1% (2003) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.742 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 36.4%
industry: 14.5% services: 49.1% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 5.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 10 N, 113 33 E | 9 30 N, 2 15 E |
Geography - note | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands |
Highways | total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure |
Imports | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | clothing, textiles, yarn, minerals, electrical machinery, fuel, livestock | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | China 41%, Hong Kong 15%, EU 10%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 6% (2000) | China 29.5%, France 14.9%, UK 4.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.7%, Thailand 4.6% (2003) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
Industries | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys | textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) |
Infant mortality rate | 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 85.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -2% (2001 est.) | 1.5% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
Labor force | 218,000 (2001) | NA (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 54% (2000 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km |
total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 18.08%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.78 years
male: 78.97 years female: 84.73 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 50.81 years
male: 50.25 years female: 51.39 years (2004 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: 40.9% male: 56.2% female: 26.5% (2000) |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | not specified | territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none |
Military - note | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there is a local police force | Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $98.3 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.7% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 128,005 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,638,010
females age 15-49: 1,647,850 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 70,508 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 835,561
females age 15-49: 835,633 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 77,552
females: 81,841 (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 | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
Natural hazards | typhoons | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
Natural resources | NEGL | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
Net migration rate | 9.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no formal political parties, however, there are civic associations that, for purposes of legislative voting, join together to form political blocs | African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and 4 other small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
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 | 461,833 (July 2002 est.) | 7,250,033
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.75% (2002 est.) | 2.89% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Macau | Cotonou, Porto-Novo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) |
Radios | 160,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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 | 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: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 176,902 (November 2001) | 66,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 158,251 (November 2001) | 236,200 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | generally flat | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.95 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.5% (2001 est.) | NA |
Waterways | none | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) |