Macau

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 promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be practiced in Macau, and that Macau would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.

• 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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.13 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.88 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

0.92 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

noun:

Chinese

adjective:

Chinese

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)

• 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

• 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

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

• 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

• Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO];
• Roman Catholic Church;
• Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• 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

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 190 per 100 persons in 2008;
• fixed-line subscribership appears to have peaked and is now in decline

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) (2008)

total:

384 km

paved:

384 km (2006)

male:

4,601

female:

4,171 (2008 est.)