Macau
Macau Special Administrative Region
executive-led limited democracyIndependence none (special administrative region of China)
Macau as the 2022 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 140 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
17 fieldsLand useshare of 28 sq km
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
29 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2020 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2022 est.)
Male · female
Ethnic groups(2016 est.)
Religions(2020 est.)
Languages
- Cantonese 80.1%, Mandarin 5.5%, other Chinese dialects 5.3%, Tagalog 3%, English 2.8%, Portuguese 0.6%, other 2.8%;
- note - Chinese and Portuguese are official languages;
- Macanese, a Portuguese-based Creole, is also spoken (2016 est.)
- major-language sample(s):
- 世界概况, 必須擁有的基本資料参考书 (Cantonese); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- 0-14 years:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- 15-24 years:
- 1.11 male(s)/female
- 25-54 years:
- 0.83 male(s)/female
- 55-64 years:
- 0.97 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.74 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.9 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Environment
8 fieldsLand use(2018 est.)
Environment - current issues
- air pollution;
- coastal waters pollution;
- insufficient policies in reducing and recycling solid wastes;
- increasing population density worsening noise pollution
Urbanization
- urban population:
- 100% of total population (2023)
- rate of urbanization:
- 1.46% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Waste and recycling
- municipal solid waste generated annually:
- 377,942 tons (2016 est.)
- municipal solid waste recycled annually:
- 75,588 tons (2014 est.)
- percent of municipal solid waste recycled:
- 20% (2014 est.)
Government
Executive-led limited democracy; President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013); Chief Executive HO lat Seng (since 20 December 2019)
20 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislature, elected 12 September 2021percent 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)
- etymology:
- name is thought to derive from the A-Ma Temple - built in 1488 and dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of seafarers and fishermen - which is referred to locally as "Maa Gok" - and in Portuguese became "Macau";
- the Chinese name Aomen means "inlet gates"
Government type
executive-led limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China
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
- history:
- previous 1976 (Organic Statute of Macau, under Portuguese authority);
- latest adopted 31 March 1993, effective 20 December 1999 (Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China serves as Macau's constitution)
- amendments:
- proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the People’s Republic of China State Council, and the Macau Special Administrative Region;
- submittal of proposals to the NPC requires two-thirds majority vote by the Legislative Assembly of Macau, approval by two thirds of Macau's deputies to the NPC, and consent of the Macau chief executive;
- final passage requires approval by the NPC;
- amended 2005, 2012
Suffrage
- 18 years of age in direct elections for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past 7 years;
- note - indirect elections are limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" and an 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 HO lat Seng (since 20 December 2019)
- 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);
- election last held on 17 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023);
- chief executive chosen by a 400-member Election Committee for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
- election last held on 24 August 2019 (next to be held in 2024)
- election results:
- 2019 : HO Iat Seng (unopposed; received 392 out of 400 votes); 2014 : Fernando CHUI Sai (unopposed; received 380 of 396 votes)
Legislative branch
- description:
- unicameral Legislative Assembly 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 12 September 2021 (next to be held in September 2025)
- election results:
- percent of vote - ACUM 20.1%, UPD 18%, NE 13.8%, UMG 12.7%, UPP 11.4%, ABL 10.8%, PS 6.6%, other 6.6%;
- seats by political group - ACUM 3, UPD 2, UMG 2, UPP 2, ABL 2, NE 2, PS 1;
- composition NA
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]
- Alliance for a Happy Home or ABL [WONG Kit-cheng] (an electoral list of UPP)
- Macau Civic Power [Agnes LAM Iok-fong]
- Macau-Guangdong Union or UMG [MAK Soi-kun]
- Macau Citizens' Development Association or ACDM [Becky SONG Pek-kei]
- New Democratic Macau Association or ANMD [AU Kam-san]
- New Hope or NE [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO]
- New Macau Association (New Macau Progressives) or AMN or ANPM [Sulu SOU Ka-hou]
- New Union for Macau's Development or NUDM [Angela LEONG On-kei]
- Progress Promotion Union
- Prosperous Democratic Macau Association or APMD (an electoral list of AMN)
- Union for Development or UPD [HO Sut Heng]
- 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
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
embassy: 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
34 fieldsGDP - composition, by sector of origin(2016 est.)
By end use% of GDP · (2017 est.)
Budget(2017 est.)
Economic 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 2016, Macau's gaming-related taxes accounted for more than 76% of total government revenue.
Macau's economy slowed dramatically in 2009 as a result of the global economic slowdown, but strong growth resumed in the 2010-13 period, largely on the back of tourism from mainland China and the gaming sectors. In 2015, this city of 646,800 hosted nearly 30.7 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 anti-corruption campaign brought Macau’s gambling boom to a halt in 2014, with spending in casinos contracting 34.3% in 2015.
As a result, Macau's inflation-adjusted GDP contracted 21.5% in 2015 and another 2.1% in 2016 - down from double-digit expansion rates in the period 2010-13 - but the economy recovered handsomely in 2017.
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.
Credit ratings
- Fitch rating:
- AA (2018)
- Moody's rating:
- Aa3 (2016)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
Agricultural products
pork, poultry, beef, pig fat, pig offals, eggs, pepper, cattle offals, cattle hides, goose/guinea fowl meat
Labor force - by occupation
- agriculture:
- 2.5%
- industry:
- 9.8%
- services:
- 4.4%
- industry and services:
- 12.4%
- agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining:
- 15%
- manufacturing:
- 25.9%
- construction:
- 7.1%
- transportation and utilities:
- 2.6%
- commerce:
- 20.3% (2013 est.)
Exports
$45.35 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars; $45.62 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars note: includes reexports
Imports
$17.35 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars; $18.28 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$20.17 billion (31 December 2017 est.) · $18.89 billion (31 December 2015 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
Exchange rates
patacas (MOP) per US dollar - 8 (2017 est.) · 7.9951 (2016 est.) · 7.9951 (2015 est.) · 7.985 (2014 est.) · 7.9871 (2013 est.)
Energy
11 fieldsElectrification% of population · (2020)
Installed generating capacity, 478,000 kW(2020 est.)
Coal
- production:
- 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
- consumption:
- 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
- exports:
- 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
- imports:
- 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
- proven reserves:
- 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
Petroleum
- total petroleum production:
- 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
- refined petroleum consumption:
- 14,300 bbl/day (2019 est.)
- crude oil and lease condensate exports:
- 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
- crude oil and lease condensate imports:
- 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
- crude oil estimated reserves:
- 0 barrels (2021 est.)
Natural gas
- production:
- 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
- consumption:
- 136.714 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
- exports:
- 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
- imports:
- 133.712 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
- proven reserves:
- 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
2.012 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
- from coal and metallurgical coke:
- 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
- from petroleum and other liquids:
- 1.744 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
- from consumed natural gas:
- 268,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
Communications
7 fieldsPer 100 inhabitants(2020 est.)
Telecommunication systems
- general assessment:
- Macau’s economy and GDP have been on a roller coaster ride since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020;
- the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China is heavily dependent on tourists coming from the mainland and Hong Kong to play in Macau’s many casinos, but the ensuing lock downs contributed to a dramatic fall in visitor numbers as well as income;
- this too, has had a major effect on the telecom sector (particularly in the mobile segment) with short-stay visitors as well as foreign workers on temporary-stay visas being forced to stay away.;
- total mobile subscription numbers are estimated to have dropped from a high of 2.8 million in 2019 (representing a whopping 442% penetration rate in a region with a population of just 700,000) to less than half that by the end of 2021: 1.3 million subscribers;
- Macau had almost the highest mobile penetration rate in the world;
- it is now sitting at a more ‘reasonable’ level of 200%;
- a significant bounce back can be expected to follow the easing of travel restrictions, although perhaps not up to the same lofty heights achieved in 2019;
- asecond factor behind the steep fall in 2020 was the introduction of a Cyber Security Law that required all prepaid SIM cards to become registered or face being deactivated in October 2020;
- the combined effect of the pandemic and the new restrictions meant that prepaid subscriber numbers fell by more than 80%;
- postpaid accounts, largely the domain of Macau’s permanent residents, were barely affected by the external upheaval;
- they continued to increase in number, year-on-year, and provided better returns to the operators thanks to substantially increased data usage during the lock downs;
- the mobile broadband market has experienced the same dramatic fluctuations as the broader mobile segment over the last two years, at least in terms of subscriber numbers;
- but this is largely because mobile broadband uptake is inextricably tied to the base mobile offering in Macau;
- with total mobile broadband data traffic going up, not down, between 2019 and 2021, that again points to the strength of the contract segment helping to drive future growth in Macau’s telecom sector (2022)
- domestic:
- fixed-line nearly 17 per 100 and mobile-cellular roughly 430 per 100 persons (2020)
- international:
- country code - 853;
- landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe;
- HF radiotelephone communication facility;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure;
consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services
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 (2019)
Transportation
8 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved only
National air transport system
- number of registered air carriers:
- 1 (2020) (registered in China); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 21 (registered in China)
- annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:
- 3,157,724 (2018)
- annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:
- 31.84 million (2018) mt-km
Military and Security
No regular indigenous military forces; Macau Public Security Police Force (includes the Police Intervention Tactical Unit or UTIP for counterterrorism operations)
2 fieldsMilitary and security forces
no regular indigenous military forces; Macau Public Security Police Force (includes the Police Intervention Tactical Unit or UTIP for counterterrorism operations)
Military - note
defense is the responsibility of China; the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) maintains a garrison in Macau
Transnational Issues
3 fieldsTrafficking in persons
- tier rating:
- Tier 2 Watch List — Macau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so;
- the government trained police, customs, and social welfare officials on human trafficking, funded an awareness campaign, and provided services to victims;
- authorities convicted three sex traffickers but did not sentence anyone to significant prison terms;
- authorities investigated only one potential trafficking case and made no prosecutions;
- the government provided no assistance to any victims, and officials did not initiate any prosecutions or sentence convicted traffickers to significant terms of imprisonment;
- Macau was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List (2020)
- trafficking profile:
- Macau is a destination and, to a much lesser extent, source for women and children subjected to sex trafficking and possibly forced labor;
- most victims come from the Chinese mainland, but others are trafficked from China, Russia, and Southeast Asia;
- victims are lured in by false job offers and forced into prostitution, often being confined to massage parlors and illegal brothels where their identity documents are confiscated and they are threatened with violence;
- Chinese, Russian, and Thai criminal organizations are believed to be involved in recruiting women for Macau’s commercial sex industry
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Macau.” The World Factbook 2022. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/macau/2022.