Macau (2008) | Tokelau (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.4% (male 36,413/female 33,981)
15-64 years: 76.6% (male 166,797/female 183,088) 65 years and over: 8% (male 15,541/female 21,169) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% |
Agriculture - products | only 2% of land area is cultivated, mainly by vegetable growers; fishing, mostly for crustaceans, is important; some of the catch is exported to Hong Kong | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats; fish |
Airports | 1 (2007) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 28.2 sq km
land: 28.2 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | less than one-sixth the size of Washington, DC | about 17 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. In this agreement, 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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 8.57 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $4.6 billion
expenditures: $3.4 billion (2006) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million (1987 est.) |
Capital | - | none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 41 km | 101 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved on 31 March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970 |
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: Tokelau |
Death rate | 4.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $0 (2006) | - |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self governance in October 2007 did not produce the two-thirds majority vote necessary for changing the political status |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US has no offices in Macau; US Consulate General in Hong Kong is accredited to Macau | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution |
Economic aid - recipient | $13.7 million (2004) | - |
Economy - overview | Macau's economy has enjoyed strong growth in recent years on the back of its expanding tourism and gaming sectors. Since opening up its locally-controlled casino industry to foreign competition in 2001, the territory has attracted 10s of billions of dollars in foreign investment that have helped transform it into the world's largest gaming center. In 2006, Macau's gaming revenue surpassed that of the Las Vegas strip, and gaming-related taxes accounted for 75% of total government revenue. The expanding casino sector, and China's decision beginning in 2002 to relax travel restrictions, have reenergized Macau's tourism industry, which saw total visitors grow to 27 million in 2007, up 62% in three years. Macau's strong economic growth has put pressure its labor market prompting businesses to look abroad to meet their staffing needs. The resulting influx of non-resident workers, who totaled one-fifth of the workforce in 2006, has fueled tensions among some segments of the population. Macau's traditional manufacturing industry has been in a slow decline. In 2006, exports of textiles and garments generated only $1.8 billion compared to $6.9 billion in gross gaming receipts. Macau's textile industry will continue to move to the mainland because of the termination in 2005 of the Multi-Fiber Agreement, which provided a near guarantee of export markets, leaving the territory more dependent on gambling and trade-related services to generate growth. However, the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Macau and mainland China that came into effect on 1 January 2004 offers many Macau-made products tariff-free access to the mainland. Macau's currency, the Pataca, is closely tied to the Hong Kong dollar, which is also freely accepted in the territory. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.37 billion kWh (2006) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2006) | - |
Electricity - imports | 964.4 million kWh (2006) | - |
Electricity - production | 1.67 billion kWh (2006) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member) | - |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95.7%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry) 1%, other 3.3% (2001 census) | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | patacas per US dollar - 8.011 (2007), 8.0015 (2006), 8.011 (2005), 8.022 (2004), 8.021 (2003) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.3811 (2007), 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003) |
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 one government secretary, three legislators, four businessmen, one pro-Beijing unionist, and one pro-Beijing educator elections: chief executive chosen by a 300-member Election Committee for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Edmund HO Hau-wah reelected received 296 votes; three members submitted blank ballots; one member was absent |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Pio TUIA (since 23 February 2008); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | 21 bbl/day (2005) | $0 |
Exports - commodities | clothing, textiles, footwear, toys, electronics, machinery and parts | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 44.1%, China 14.8%, Hong Kong 11.3%, Germany 7.3%, UK 4.1% (2006) | New Zealand (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 3.9% services: 96% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - real growth rate | 16.6% (2006) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 22 10 N, 113 33 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | essentially urban; an area of land reclaimed from the sea measuring 5.2 sq km and known as Cotai now connects the islands of Coloane and Taipa; the island area is connected to the mainland peninsula by three bridges | consists of three atolls (Atafu, Fakaofo, Nukunonu), each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over 3 m above sea level |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
- |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for drugs going into mainland China; consumer of opiates and amphetamines | - |
Imports | 13,870 bbl/day (2006) | $969,200 c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, consumer goods (foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco), capital goods, mineral fuels and oils | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | China 45.2%, Hong Kong 10.2%, Japan 8.4%, US 5.5%, Singapore 4.1%, France 4% (2006) | New Zealand (2006) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.8% | - |
Industries | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.2% (2006) | NA% |
International organization participation | IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO | PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | NA | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 275,000 (2006) | 440 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | manufacturing 11.1%, construction 11.7%, transport and communications 6.3%, wholesale and retail trade 13.7%, restaurants and hotels 11.3%, gambling 19.8%, public sector 7.7%, financial services 2.6%, other services and agriculture 15.7% (2006) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 0.34 km
regional border: China 0.34 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Cantonese 87.9%, Hokkien 4.4%, Mandarin 1.6%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 3% (2001 census) | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system | New Zealand and local statutes |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (29 seats; 12 members elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 September 2005 (next in September 2009) election results: percent of vote - New Democratic Macau Association 18.8%, Macau United Citizens' Association 16.6%, Union for Development 13.3%, Union for Promoting Progress 9.6%, Macau Development Alliance 9.3%, others 32.4%; seats by political group - New Democratic Macau Association 2, Macau United Citizens' Association 2, Union for Development 2, Union for Promoting Progress 2, Macau Development Alliance 1, others 3; 10 seats filled by professional and business groups; seven members appointed by chief executive |
unicameral General Fono (20 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Atafu has seven seats, Fakaofo has seven seats, Nukunonu has six seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held 17-19 January 2008 (next to be held in 2011) election results: independents 20 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 82.27 years
male: 79.44 years female: 85.25 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.3% male: 95.3% female: 87.8% (2001 census) |
NA |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | not specified | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of China | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | no regular military forces | - |
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 | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | typhoons | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | NEGL | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 4.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA |
Political parties and leaders | Civil Service Union [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO]; Development Union [KWAN Tsui-hang]; Macau Development Alliance [Angela LEONG On-kei]; Macau United Citizens' Association [CHAN Meng-kam]; New Democratic Macau Association [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]; United Forces
note: there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies |
none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 456,989 (July 2007 est.) | 1,449 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.841% (2007 est.) | -0.018% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (one radio station provides service to all islands) (2002) |
Religions | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.072 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.911 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.734 male(s)/female total population: 0.918 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | direct election 18 years of age for some non-executive positions, 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 | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services
domestic: termination of monopoly over mobile-cellular telephone services in 2001 spurred sharp increase in subscriptions with mobile-cellular teledensity approaching 140 per 100 persons in 2006; fixed-line teledensity about 40 per 100 persons international: country code - 853; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; HF radiotelephone communication facility; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: modern satellite-based communications system
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 178,013 (2007) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 794,323 (2007) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2006) | - |
Terrain | generally flat | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.03 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 3.1% (2006) | NA% |