Macau

overseas territory of Portugal scheduled to revert to China in 1999Independence none (territory of Portugal

Macau as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 72 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalMacau
Area16 km2
LocationEast Asia, 27 km west-southwest of Hong Kong on the southeast coast of China
1993

Every edition of Macau

Populationas each edition published it
477,850 people July 1993 est. · 441,691 in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.44% 1993 est. · 0.64% in 2025
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 33.1 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
79.64 years 1993 est. · 85.3 yrs in 2025
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.44 children per woman 1993 est. · 2.2 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
5.5 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 7 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$6,700 1991 · $112,800 in 2025
GDP real growth% a year
3.1% 1991 · 8.8% in 2025

Geography

East Asia, 27 km west-southwest of Hong Kong on the southeast coast of China | bordering the South China Sea

13 fields

Land useshare of 16 km2

forest and woodland 0%other 100%arable land 0% in all · permanent crops 0% in all · meadows and pastures 0% in all
Area
16km2
land area: 16 km2comparative area: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Coastline
40km
Maritime claims: not specified
Land boundaries
0.34km
total · China 0.34 km

Location

East Asia, 27 km west-southwest of Hong Kong on the southeast coast of China bordering the South China Sea

Map references

Asia, Oceania, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Climate

subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

Terrain

generally flat

Environment

essentially urban; one causeway and one bridge connect the two islands to the peninsula on mainland

People

14 fields
Population
477,850
(July 1993 est.)growth rate: 1.44% (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth
14.99Death
4.05Net migration
3.45

Male · female(1993 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years79.64
77.24 · 82.17
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy90%
93% · 86%
MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1981)

Ethnic divisions

Chinese 95%Portuguese 3%other 2%

Religions(1981)

Buddhist 45%Roman Catholic 7%Protestant 1%none 45.8%other 1.2% (1981)
Labor force
180,000
(1986)by occupation: NA

Infant mortality rate

5.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.44 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Macanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Macau

Languages

Portuguese (official), Cantonese is the language of commerce

Government

Overseas territory of Portugal scheduled to revert to China in 1999

21 fields

Names

conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Macau
local long form:
none
local short form:
Ilha de Macau

Type

overseas territory of Portugal scheduled to revert to China in 1999

Capital

Macau

Administrative divisions

2 districts (concelhos, singular - concelho); Ilhas, Macau

Independence

none (territory of Portugal; Portugal signed an agreement with China on 13 April 1987 to return Macau to China on 20 December 1999; in the joint declaration, China promises to respect Macau's existing social and economic systems and lifestyle for 50 year after transition)

Constitution

17 February 1976, Organic Law of Macau; basic law drafted primarily by Beijing awaiting final approval

National holiday

Day of Portugal, 10 June

Political parties and leaders

  • Association to Defend the Interests of Macau;
  • Macau Democratic Center;
  • Group to Study the Development of Macau;
  • Macau Independent Group

Other political or pressure groups

  • wealthy Macanese and Chinese representing local interests, wealthy pro-Communist merchants representing China's interests;
  • in January 1967 the Macau Government acceded to Chinese demands that gave China veto power over administration

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Elections

Legislative Assembly:
  • last held on 10 March 1991;
  • results - percent of vote by party NA;
  • seats - (23 total; 8 elected by universal suffrage, 8 by indirect suffrage, and 7 appointed by the governor) number of seats by party NA

Executive branch

president of Portugal, governor, Consultative Council (cabinet)

Legislative branch

unicameral Legislative Assembly

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State:
President (of Portugal) Mario Alberto SOARES (since 9 March 1986)
Head of Government:
Governor Gen. Vasco Joachim Rocha VIEIRA (since 20 March 1991)

Member of

ESCAP (associate), GATT, IMO (associate), WTO (associate)

Diplomatic representation in US

as Chinese territory under Portuguese administration, Macanese interests in the US are represented by Portugal

US diplomatic representation

the US has no offices in Macau, and US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong

Flag

the flag of Portugal is used

Economy

The economy is based largely on tourism (including gambling) and textile and | fireworks manufacturing.

18 fields
Real growth rate
3.1%
(1991)industrial production growth: NA
Unemployment rate
2%
(1991 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$305 millionExpenditures
$298 million
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)

Overview

The economy is based largely on tourism (including gambling) and textile and fireworks manufacturing. Efforts to diversify have spawned other small industries - toys, artificial flowers, and electronics. The tourist sector has accounted for roughly 25% of GDP, and the clothing industry has provided about two-thirds of export earnings;

the gambling industry represented well over 40% of GDP in 1992. Macau depends on China for most of its food, fresh water, and energy imports. Japan and Hong Kong are the main suppliers of raw materials and capital goods.

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3.1 billion (1991)

Exports

$1.8 billion (1992 est.)

commodities:
textiles, clothing, toys
partners:
US 36%, Hong Kong 13%, Germany 12%, France 8% (1991)

Imports

$2.0 billion (1992 est.)

commodities:
raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods
partners:
Hong Kong 35%, China 22%, Japan 17% (1991)

External debt

$91 million (1985)

Electricity

258,000 kW capacity; 855 million kWh produced, 1,806 kWh per capita (1992)

Industries

clothing, textiles, toys, plastic products, furniture, tourism

Agriculture

  • rice, vegetables;
  • food shortages - rice, vegetables, meat;
  • depends mostly on imports for food requirements

Currency

1 pataca (P) = 100 avos

Exchange rates

  • patacas (P) per US$1 - 8.034 (1991), 8.024 (1990), 8.030 (1989), 8.044 (1988), 7.993 (1987);
  • note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

4 fields

Highways

42 km paved

Ports

Macau

Airports

none useable, 1 under construction; 1 seaplane station

Telecommunications

  • fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services;
  • 52,000 telephones;
  • broadcast stations - 4 AM, 3 FM, no TV (TV programs received from Hong Kong);
  • 115,000 radio receivers (est.);
  • international high-frequency radio communication facility;
  • access to international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and China;
  • 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

2 fields

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 137,738; fit for military service 77,159 (1993 est.)

Note

defense is responsibility of Portugal Macedonia has proclaimed independent statehood but has not been formally recognized as a state by the United States.

Central Intelligence Agency. “Macau.” The World Factbook 1993. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/macau/1993.

How to cite ← 1992 edition 1994 edition →