Paracel Islands (2006) | Macau (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (special administrative region of China) |
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.) |
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 |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: NA sq km
land: NA sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 28.2 sq km
land: 28.2 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | NA | less than one-sixth the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The islands are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 8.57 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $3.16 billion
expenditures: $3.16 billion (FY05/06) |
Climate | tropical | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 518 km | 41 km |
Constitution | - | Basic Law, approved on 31 March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Paracel Islands |
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) |
Death rate | - | 4.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $3.1 billion (2004) |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (special administrative region of China) |
Disputes - international | occupied by China, also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA (2004) |
Economy - overview | China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. | Macau's well-to-do economy has remained one of the most open in the world since its reversion to China in 1999. Apparel exports and tourism are mainstays of the economy. Although the territory was hit hard by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and the global downturn in 2001, its economy grew 10.1% in 2002, 14.2% in 2003, and 28.6% in 2004 before slowing to 6.7% in 2005. The economic boom was powered by gambling, tourism, and the construction necessary to support such endeavors. China's decision to ease travel restrictions led to a rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors. The opening of Macau's gaming industry to foreign access in 2001 spurred an increase in public works expenditures. 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. Much of Macau's textile industry may move to the mainland due to 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. 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. The range of products covered by CEPA was expanded on 1 January 2005. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 2.16 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 341 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 1.947 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
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) |
Exchange rates | - | patacas per US dollar - 8.0015 (2006), 8.011 (2005), 8.022 (2004), 8.021 (2003), 8.033 (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 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 |
Exports | - | 21 bbl/day (2005) |
Exports - commodities | - | clothing, textiles, footwear, toys, electronics, machinery and parts |
Exports - partners | - | US 44.1%, China 14.8%, Hong Kong 11.3%, Germany 7.3%, UK 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 7.2% services: 92.7% (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 6.7% (2005) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 30 N, 112 00 E | 22 10 N, 113 33 E |
Geography - note | composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group | 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 |
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 | - | 12,840 bbl/day (2005) |
Imports - commodities | - | raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, consumer goods (foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco), capital goods, mineral fuels and oils |
Imports - partners | - | China 45.2%, Hong Kong 10.2%, Japan 8.4%, US 5.5%, Singapore 4.1%, France 4% (2006) |
Independence | - | none (special administrative region of China) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 4.4% (2005) |
International organization participation | - | IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region |
Labor force | - | 248,000 (2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | manufacturing 13.7%, construction 10.5%, transport and communications 5.9%, wholesale and retail trade 14.6%, restaurants and hotels 10.3%, gambling 17.9%, public sector 7.8%, other services and agriculture 19.3% (2005 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 0.34 km
regional border: China 0.34 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
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) |
Legal system | - | based on Portuguese civil law system |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 82.27 years
male: 79.44 years female: 85.25 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.3% male: 95.3% female: 87.8% (2001 census) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | NA | not specified |
Military - note | occupied by China | defense is the responsibility of China |
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 |
Nationality | - | noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
Natural hazards | typhoons | typhoons |
Natural resources | none | NEGL |
Net migration rate | - | 4.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons |
456,989 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.841% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | - | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) |
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.) |
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 |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 176,700 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 636,300 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (2006) |
Terrain | mostly low and flat | generally flat |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.03 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 4.1% (2005) |