Macau (2004) | Monaco (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18% (male 41,460; female 38,595)
15-64 years: 74.2% (male 157,629; female 172,810) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 14,380; female 20,412) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 15% (male 2,514/female 2,394)
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 10,047/female 10,312) 65 years and over: 22.7% (male 3,019/female 4,385) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, livestock | none |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 25.4 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1.95 sq km
land: 1.95 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | about three times the size of The Mall in 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 for the next 50 years. | The Genoese built a fortress on the site of present-day Monaco in 1215. The current ruling Grimaldi family secured control in the late 13th century, and a principality was established in 1338. Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with a railroad linkup to France and the opening of a casino. Since then, the principality's mild climate, splendid scenery, and gambling facilities have made Monaco world famous as a tourist and recreation center. |
Birth rate | 8.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.9 billion
expenditures: $1.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $194 million (2002) |
revenues: $863 million
expenditures: $920.6 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Monaco
geographic coordinates: 43 44 N, 7 25 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers | Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 41 km | 4.1 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" | 17 December 1962 |
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: Principality of Monaco
conventional short form: Monaco local long form: Principaute de Monaco local short form: Monaco |
Currency | pataca (MOP) | - |
Death rate | 4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.92 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $121 million (2001 est.) | $18 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US has no offices in Macau; US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong | the US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Ambassador to France is accredited to Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France), under the authority of the US ambassador to France, handles routine diplomatic and consular matters concerning Monaco |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission: Ambassador to the US and UN Gilles NOGHES
chancery: 565 Fifth Avenue, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10017 telephone: (212) 286-0500 FAX: (212) 286-1574 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA (1997) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Macau's well-to-do economy has remained one of the most open in the world since its reversion to China in 1999. The territory's net exports of goods and services account for roughly 41% of GDP with tourism and apparel exports as the mainstays. Although the territory was hit hard by the 1998 Asian financial crisis and the global downturn in 2001, its economy grew 9.5% in 2002. A rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors because of China's easing of restrictions on travel drove the recovery. The budget also returned to surplus in 2002 because of the surge in visitors from China and a hike in taxes on gambling profits, which generated about 70% of government revenue. The liberalization of Macao's gambling monopoly contributes to GDP growth, as the three companies awarded gambling licenses have pledged to invest $2.2 billion in the territory. Much of Macau's textile industry may move to the mainland as the Multi-Fiber Agreement is phased out. The territory may have to rely more on gambling and trade-related services to generate growth. The government estimated GDP growth at 4% in 2003 with the drop in large measure due to concerns over the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), but private sector analysts think the figure may have been higher because of the continuing boom in tourism. | Monaco, bordering France on the Mediterranean coast, is a popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant climate. In 2001, a major construction project extended the pier used by cruise ships in the main harbor. The principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income tax and low business taxes and thrives as a tax haven both for individuals who have established residence and for foreign companies that have set up businesses and offices. The state retains monopolies in a number of sectors, including tobacco, the telephone network, and the postal service. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.688 billion kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 193 million kWh (2002) | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by France |
Electricity - production | 1.611 billion kWh (2002) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Agel 140 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other | French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21% |
Exchange rates | patacas per US dollar - 8.0212 (2003), 8.0334 (2002), 8.0335 (2001), 8.0259 (2000), 7.9919 (1999) | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of all one government secretary, four legislators, four businessmen, and one pro-Beijing unionist elections: chief executive chosen by a 300-member selection committee for up to two five-year terms election results: Edmund HO Hau-wah reelected on 29 August 2004; received 296 votes in Election Committee out of 300 possible; 3 members submitted blank ballots; 1 member was absent |
chief of state: Prince ALBERT II (since 6 April 2005)
head of government: Minister of State Jean-Paul PROUST (since 1 June 2005) cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; minister of state appointed by the monarch from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government |
Exports | NA (2001) | $716.3 million
note: full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France (2005) |
Exports - commodities | clothing, textiles, footwear, cement, machines, and parts | - |
Exports - partners | US 49.4%, China 14.1%, Germany 8.1%, Hong Kong 6.7%, UK 4.5% (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 red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is white (top) and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.1 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 12% services: 87% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 0%
industry: 4.9% services: 95.1% (2005) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,400 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2003 est.) | 0.9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 10 N, 113 33 E | 43 44 N, 7 24 E |
Geography - note | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland | second-smallest independent state in the world (after Holy See); almost entirely urban |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 271 km
paved: 271 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $916.1 million
note: full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France (2005) |
Imports - commodities | clothing, textiles, yarn, foodstuffs, fuel, automobiles, capital goods | - |
Imports - partners | China 43%, Hong Kong 12.7%, Japan 8.7%, Taiwan 5.6% (2003) | - |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 1419 (beginning of rule by the House of Grimaldi) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys | tourism, construction, small-scale industrial and consumer products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 5.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -2.6% (2003 est.) | 1.9% (2000) |
International organization participation | IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (sub-bureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate), WTO | ACCT, CE, FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITSO, ITU, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court or Tribunal Supreme (judges appointed by the monarch on the basis of nominations by the National Council) |
Labor force | 214,000 (2002) | 44,000
note: includes workers from all foreign countries (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | manufacturing 20%, construction 7%, transport and communications 6%, wholesale and retail trade 15%, restaurants and hotels 12%, gambling 7%, public sector 8%, other services and agriculture 25% (2002 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 0.34 km
regional border: China 0.34 km |
total: 4.4 km
border countries: France 4.4 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (urban area) (2005) |
Languages | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) | French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system | based on French 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 sevem appointed by the chief executive; members serve four-year terms); number of legislators will increase to 29 from September 2005
elections: last held 23 September 2001 (next to be September 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 or Conseil National (24 seats; 16 members elected by list majority system, 8 by proportional representation; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2003 (next to be held February 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UNAM 21, UND 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 82.03 years
male: 79.2 years female: 84.99 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 79.82 years
male: 75.99 years female: 83.85 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.5% male: 97.2% female: 92% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of France, near the border with Italy |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | not specified | territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | none | registered in other countries: 64 (Bahamas 11, Barbados 1, Georgia 10, Isle of Man 3, Liberia 8, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 7, Norway 5, Panama 11, St Kitts and Nevis 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 6, unknown 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France; the Palace Guard performs ceremonial duties (2003) |
Military branches | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there are local police forces | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 125,060 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 68,913 (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 (Saint Rainier's Day), 19 November (1857) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
noun: Monegasque(s) or Monacan(s)
adjective: Monegasque or Monacan |
Natural hazards | typhoons | NA |
Natural resources | NEGL | none |
Net migration rate | 4.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Some civic associations operate as de facto political parties: Electoral Union; Pro-Macao and Flower of Friendship and Development of Macao; Associacao para a Defesa dos Interesses de Macao; Centro Democratico de Macao; Grupo Independente de Macao; Macau Economic Promotion Association; Progress Promotion Union; Development Union | National and Democratic Union or UND [Guy MAGNAN]; Union for Monaco or UPM (including National Union for the Future of Monaco or UNAM) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Catholic Church [LAI Hung-sing, bishop]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO, managing director]; Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong, leader] | NA |
Population | 445,286 (July 2004 est.) | 32,671 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.87% (2004 est.) | 0.386% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Macau | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM NA, shortwave 8 (1998) |
Religions | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic 90%, other 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.974 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.688 male(s)/female total population: 0.912 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: country code - 853; HF radiotelephone communication facility; access to international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and China; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: modern automatic telephone system
domestic: NA international: country code - 377; no satellite earth stations; connected by cable into the French communications system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 174,600 (2003) | 34,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 364,000 (2003) | 17,200 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2003) | 5 (1998) |
Terrain | generally flat | hilly, rugged, rocky |
Total fertility rate | 0.93 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.75 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.3% (2003) | 0% (2005) |