Reunion (2002) | Macau (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | none (special administrative region of China) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 120,864; female 115,251)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 228,864; female 235,991) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 17,459; female 25,552) (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | rice, vegetables |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 1 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 25.4 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | 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. |
Birth rate | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.19 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $1.15 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $166 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Saint-Denis | - |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 207 km | 41 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
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) |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | pataca (MOP) |
Death rate | 5.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.5 billion (1998) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | special administrative region of China |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | the US has no offices in Macau, and US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | none (special administrative region of China) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | $NA |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.014 billion kWh (2000) | 1.476 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 175 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 1.09 billion kWh (2000) | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 55%
hydro: 45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) | 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 |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
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 |
Exports | $214 million f.o.b. (1997) | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | clothing, textiles, cement, electronics, cameras |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) | US 48%, EU 28%, China 10%, Hong Kong 7% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 | purchasing power parity - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (1998 est.) | 0.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 22 10 N, 113 33 E |
Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland |
Highways | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1,600 km by local authorities (1994) |
total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997) | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | clothing, textiles, yarn, minerals, electrical machinery, fuel, livestock |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) | China 41%, Hong Kong 15%, EU 10%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 6% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | none (special administrative region of China) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys |
Infant mortality rate | 8.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | -2% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region |
Labor force | 261,000 (1995) (1995) | 218,000 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) (1990) | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 54% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) |
Legal system | French law | based on Portuguese civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.18 years
male: 69.78 years female: 76.74 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 81.78 years
male: 78.97 years female: 84.73 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90% male: 93% female: 86% (1981 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
Map references | World | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
not specified |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1 (2002 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | no regular indigenous military forces; responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there is a local police force |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 194,485 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 128,005 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 99,251 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 70,508 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,243 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | 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: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | typhoons |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] | there are no formal political parties, however, there are civic associations that, for purposes of legislative voting, join together to form political blocs |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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] |
Population | 743,981 (July 2002 est.) | 461,833 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.52% (2002 est.) | 1.75% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | Macau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 173,000 (1997) | 160,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 268,500 (1999) | 176,902 (November 2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 197,000 (September 2000) | 158,251 (November 2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | generally flat |
Total fertility rate | 2.55 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 42.8% (1998) (1998) | 6.5% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |