Macau
Macau Special Administrative Region
limited democracyIndependence none (special administrative region of China)
Macau as the 2015 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 143 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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 of the People's Republic of China on 20 December 1999. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's political and economic system would not be imposed on Macau, and that Macau would enjoy a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign affairs and defense for the subsequent 50 years.
Geography
Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
18 fieldsLand useshare of 28.2 sq km
Environment - international agreements
party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member)
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
People and Society
23 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2015 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2015 est.)
Male · female
Ethnic groups(2011 est.)
Religions(1997 est.)
Languages
Cantonese 83.3%, Mandarin 5%, Hokkien 3.7%, English 2.3%, other Chinese dialects 2%, Tagalog 1.7%, Portuguese 0.7%, other 1.3% note: Chinese and Portuguese are official languages (2011 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- 0-14 years:
- 1.1 male(s)/female
- 15-24 years:
- 1.09 male(s)/female
- 25-54 years:
- 0.81 male(s)/female
- 55-64 years:
- 1.02 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.88 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.91 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
Government
Limited democracy; President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013); Chief Executive Fernando CHUI Sai On (since 20 December 2009)
20 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislature, elected 15 September 2013percent of vote
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Macau Special Administrative Region
- conventional short form:
- Macau
- official long form:
- Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese)
- official short form:
- Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese)
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
Constitution
- previous 1976 (Organic Statute of Macau, by Portugal);
- latest adopted 31 March 1993, effective 20 December 1999 (Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region, by the People's Republic of China, serves as Macau's constitution) (2013)
Suffrage
- 18 years of age in direct elections for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years;
- note - indirect elections are limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (973 were registered in the 2009 legislative elections) and a 400-member Election Committee for the Chief Executive drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, central government bodies, and elected Macau officials
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013)
- head of government:
- Chief Executive Fernando CHUI Sai On (since 20 December 2009)
- cabinet:
- Executive Council appointed by the chief executive
- elections/appointments:
- president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
- chief executive chosen by a 400-member Election Committee for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
- election last held on 29 August 2014 (next to be held in 2019);
- note - the Legislative Assembly in August 2012 voted to expand the Election Committee to 400 from 300 seats for the 2014 election
- election results:
- Fernando CHUI Sai On reelected chief executive; Election Committee vote count - 380 of 396
Legislative branch
- description:
- unicameral Legislative Council or Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (33 seats; 14 members directly elected by proportional representation vote, 12 indirectly elected by an electoral college of professional and commercial interest groups, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; members serve 4-year terms)
- elections:
- last held on 15 September 2013 (next to be held in September 2017)
- election results:
- percent of vote - ACUM 18.0%, UMG 11.1%, UPP 10.8%, NE 9.0%, NUDM 8.9%, UPD 8.2%, APMD 7.5%, ANMD 6.0%, APM 6.0%, other 14.5%;
- seats by political group - ACUM 3, UMG 2, UPP 2, NE 2, NUDM 1, UPD 1, APMD 1, ANMD 1, APM 1;
- 12 seats filled by professional and business groups;
- 7 members appointed by the chief executive
Judicial branch
- highest court(s):
- Court of Final Appeal of Macau Special Administrative Region (consists of the court president and 2 associate justices)
- judge selection and term of office:
- justices appointed by the Macau chief executive upon the recommendation of an independent commission of judges, lawyers, and "eminent" persons; judge tenure NA
- subordinate courts:
- Court of Second Instance;
- Court of First instance;
- Lower Court;
- Administrative Court
Political parties and leaders
- Alliance for Change or APM [Melinda CHAN Mei-yi]
- Macau-Guangdong Union or UMG [MAK Soi-kun]
- New Democratic Macau Association or ANMD (an electoral list of the New Macau Association)
- New Hope or NE [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO]
- New Macau Association or ANM [Sulu SOU Ka-hou]
- New Union for Macau's Development or NUDM [Angela LEONG On-kei]
- Prosperous Democratic Macau Association or APMD (an electoral list of the New Macau Association)
- Union for Development or UPD [KWAN Tsui-hang]
- Union for Promoting Progress or UPP [HO Ion-sang]
- United Citizens Association of Macau or ACUM [CHAN Meng-kam]
note: there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies
Political pressure groups and leaders
- Bar-Bending Workers' Association [WONG Wai-Man]
- Civic Power [Agnes LAM lok-fong]
- Democratic Action [LEE Kin-yun]
- Macau New Chinese Youth Association [LEONG Sin-man]
- Macau Worker's Union [HO Heng-kuok]
- New Macau Association [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]
- Workers' Self-Help Union [CHEONG Weng-fat]
International organization participation
ICC (national committees), IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation from the US
the US has no offices in Macau; US Consulate General in Hong Kong is accredited to Macau
Flag description
- 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 the center of the arc and two smaller on either side;
- the lotus is the floral emblem of Macau, the three petals represent the peninsula and two islands that make up Macau;
- the five stars echo those on the flag of China
National anthem
note: as a Special Administrative Region of China, "Yiyongjun Jinxingqu" is the official anthem (see China)
Economy
38 fieldsGDP - composition, by sector of origin(2014 est.)
By end use% of GDP
Economy - overview
Since opening up its locally-controlled casino industry to foreign competition in 2001, Macau has attracted tens of billions of dollars in foreign investment, transforming the territory into one of the world's largest gaming centers. Macau's gaming and tourism businesses were fueled by China's decision to relax travel restrictions on Chinese citizens wishing to visit Macau.
In 2014, Macau's gaming-related taxes accounted for more than 83% of total government revenue. Macau's economy slowed dramatically in 2009 as a result of the global economic slowdown, but strong growth resumed in 2010-13, largely on the back of tourism from mainland China and the gaming sectors.
In 2014, this city of 636,200 hosted nearly 31.5 million visitors. Almost 67% came from mainland China. Macau's traditional manufacturing industry has slowed greatly since the termination of the Multi-Fiber Agreement in 2005. Services export—primarily gaming—increasingly has driven Macau’s economic performance.
Mainland China’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign has brought Macau’s gambling boom to a halt, with spending in casinos contracting 2.6% in 2014. As a result, Macau's inflation-adjusted GDP contracted 0.4% from 2013, down from double-digit expansion rates in 2010-13. Non-inflation adjusted exports of goods and services dropped 0.4% from 2013, reflecting the slowdown in gaming exports.
Macau continues to face the challenges of managing its growing casino industry, risks from money-laundering activities, and the need to diversify the economy away from heavy dependence on gaming revenues. Macau's currency, the pataca, is closely tied to the Hong Kong dollar, which is also freely accepted in the territory.
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
Labor force - by occupation
- manufacturing:
- 2.5%
- construction:
- 9.8%
- transport and communications:
- 4.4%
- wholesale and retail trade:
- 12.4%
- restaurants and hotels:
- 15%
- gambling:
- 25.9%
- public sector:
- 7.1%
- financial services:
- 2.6%
- other services:
- 20.3% (2013)
Commercial bank prime lending rate
5.3% (31 December 2014 est.) · 5.25% (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 149
Stock of narrow money
$7.17 billion (31 December 2014 est.) · $7.35 billion (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 88
Stock of broad money
$64.67 billion (31 December 2014 est.) · $55.29 billion (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 63
Stock of domestic credit
$-4.956 billion (31 December 2014 est.); $-5.517 billion (31 December 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 188
Current account balance
$20.77 billion (2013 est.) · $17.39 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 20
Exports
$1.137 billion (2013 est.) · $1.384 billion (2012 est.) note: includes reexports country comparison to the world: 158
Imports - commodities
raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, consumer goods (foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco, garments and footwear, motor vehicles), capital goods, mineral fuels and oils
Imports - partners
China 33.2%, Hong Kong 10.3%, Switzerland 9.1%, France 8.4%, Italy 6.9%, US 6.5%, Japan 5.6% (2014 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$16.15 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
note: the Fiscal Reserves Act that came into force on 1 January 2012 requires the fiscal reserves to be separated from the foreign exchange reserves and to be managed separately; the transfer of assets took place in February 2012
country comparison to the world: 69
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home
$18.91 billion (31 December 2012 est.) · $14.91 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 76
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad
$1.166 billion (2012 est.) · $667.8 million (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 80
Exchange rates
patacas (MOP) per US dollar - 7.99 (2014 est.) · 7.9893 (2013 est.) · 7.99 (2012 est.) · 8.0182 (2011 est.) · 8.0022 (2010 est.)
Energy
23 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 472,000 kW(2013 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy
1.694 million Mt (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 155
Communications
8 fieldsPer 100 inhabitants(2009–12)
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 exceeding 200 per 100 persons;
- 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) (2011)
Broadcast media
- local government dominates broadcast media;
- 2 television stations operated by the government with one broadcasting in Portuguese and the other in Cantonese and Mandarin;
- 1 cable TV and 4 satellite TV services available;
- 3 radio stations broadcasting, of which 2 are government-operated (2012)
Transportation
5 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved only
Military
No regular indigenous military forces
5 fieldsTransnational Issues
2 fieldsIllicit drugs
transshipment point for drugs going into mainland China; consumer of opiates and amphetamines
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Macau.” The World Factbook 2015. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/macau/2015.