Macau (2002) | Slovakia (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
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: 18.3% (male 508,256; female 484,739)
15-64 years: 70.1% (male 1,888,705; female 1,910,842) 65 years and over: 11.6% (male 237,770; female 392,054) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, vegetables | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 34 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Area | total: 25.4 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | about twice the size of New Hampshire |
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. | In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Historic, political, and geographic factors have caused Slovakia to experience more difficulty in developing a modern market economy than some of its Central European neighbors. |
Birth rate | 12.19 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.15 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $166 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $5.2 billion
expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
Capital | - | Bratislava |
Climate | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 41 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" | ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership |
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: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
Currency | pataca (MOP) | Slovak koruna (SKK) |
Death rate | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1998) | $9.6 billion (2002 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 Ronald WEISER
embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338, 5443-0861 FAX: [421] (2) 5443-0096 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission: Ambassador Martin BUTORA
chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054 FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438 |
Disputes - international | none | Slovakia requested additional ICJ judgment in 1998, and talks continue to set modalities to assure Hungarian compliance with 1997 ICJ decision to proceed with construction of Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Dam, abandoned by Hungary in 1989 |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | ODA $113 million (2000 est.) |
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. | Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government has made excellent progress in 2001-02 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded expectations in 2001-02, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 17.2% in 2002, remains the economy's Achilles heel. The government faces other strong challenges in 2003, especially the cutting of budget and current account deficits and the prevention of a revival of inflation. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.476 billion kWh (2000) | 25.203 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (2000) | 4.9 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 175 million kWh (2000) | 4.5 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) | 27.53 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 35%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 48% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other | Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Roma 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which is about 500,000), Czech, Moravian, Silesian 1.1%, Ruthenian and Ukrainian 0.6%, German 0.1%, Polish 0.1%, other 0.2% (1996) |
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 | koruny per US dollar - 47.792 (September 2001), 46.035 (2000), 41.363 (1999), 35.233 (1998), 33.616 (1997) |
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 Rudolf SCHUSTER (since 15 June 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 May 1999 (next to be held NA May/June 2004); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Rudolf SCHUSTER elected president in the first direct, popular election; percent of vote - Rudolf SCHUSTER 57% note: government coalition - SDK, SDL, SMK, SOP, KDH |
Exports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2000) | $12.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | clothing, textiles, cement, electronics, cameras | machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | US 48%, EU 28%, China 10%, Hong Kong 7% (2000) | EU 59.9% (Germany 27.0%, Italy 8.8%, Austria 8.1%), Czech Republic 16.6% (2001) |
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 white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $66 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 34% services: 61% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 10 N, 113 33 E | 48 40 N, 19 30 E |
Geography - note | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland | landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
total: 17,710 km
paved: 17,533 km (including 288 km of expressways) unpaved: 177 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 18% (1992) (1992) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market |
Imports | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2000) | $15.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | clothing, textiles, yarn, minerals, electrical machinery, fuel, livestock | machinery and transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) |
Imports - partners | China 41%, Hong Kong 15%, EU 10%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 6% (2000) | EU 49.8% (Germany 24.7%, Italy 6.4%), Czech Republic 15.1%, Russia 14.8% (2001) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.4% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys | metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products |
Infant mortality rate | 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 8.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -2% (2001 est.) | 3.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,740 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) |
Labor force | 218,000 (2001) | 3 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 54% (2000 est.) | industry 29%, agriculture 9%, construction 8%, transport and communication 8%, services 46% (1994) (1994) |
Land boundaries | total: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km |
total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 30.74%
permanent crops: 2.64% other: 66.62% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) | Slovak (official), Hungarian |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
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 Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS-LS 19.5%, SDKU 15.1%, SMER 13.5%, SMK 11.2%, KDH 8.3%, ANO 8%, KSS 6.3%; seats by party - governing coalition 78 (SDKU 28, SMK 20, KDH 15, ANO 15), opposition 72 (HZDS 36, SMER 25, KSS 11) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.78 years
male: 78.97 years female: 84.73 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74.2 years
male: 70.19 years female: 78.41 years (2002 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 | Central Europe, south of Poland |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | not specified | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,191 GRT/19,489 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3 (2002 est.) |
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 | Army (Ground Forces), Air and Air Defense Forces, Home Guards (Territorial Defense Forces), Civil Defense Force, Railway Armed Forces (subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation, Post, and Telecommunications) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $406 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.89% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 128,005 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,486,728 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 70,508 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,136,775 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 45,502 (2002 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 | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
Natural hazards | typhoons | NA |
Natural resources | NEGL | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
Net migration rate | 9.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products NA km; natural gas 2,700 km |
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 | Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Democratic Party or DS [Ludovit KANIK]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Liberal Democratic Union or LDU [Jan BUDAJ]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [Vladimir MECIAR]; Party of Civic Understanding or SOP [Pavol HAMZIK]; note - SSDS and SZS joined the SOP parliamentary caucus; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Pavel KONCOS]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; Real Slovak National Party or PSNS [Jan SLOTA]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [leader NA]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; note - this is DZURINDA's new party for the 2002 elections; he remains chairman of a rump and splintering SDK; Slovak Democratic Coalition or SDK (loose parliamentary club grouping, representing members of the smaller SSDS, SZS, and those committed to run under SDKU in 2002) [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Anna MALIKOVA]; Yes (ANO) [Paval RUSKO] |
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] | Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG |
Population | 461,833 (July 2002 est.) | 5,422,366 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.75% (2002 est.) | 0.14% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Macau | Bratislava, Komarno |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 160,000 (1997) | 3.12 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,660 km
broad gauge: 102 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1,505 km electrified; 1,011 km double-tracked) narrow gauge: 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (2001) |
Religions | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 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: a modernization and privatization program is increasing accessibility to telephone service, reducing the waiting time for new subscribers, and generally improving service quality
domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; mobile cellular capability has been added international: three international exchanges (one in Bratislava and two in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services |
Telephones - main lines in use | 176,902 (November 2001) | 1,934,558 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 158,251 (November 2001) | 736,662 (April 1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) | 38 (plus 864 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | generally flat | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.25 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.5% (2001 est.) | 17.2% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 172 km (all on the Danube) |