The CIA World Factbook Every edition, 2006 to 2025 Southeast Asia
Trafficking in persons Macau, in 7 editions.
The entry for Macau published Trafficking in persons in 7 editions of 36, from 2006 to 2025. The text changed in 5 editions. Each is shown as published. Trafficking in persons in every entry.
- editions changed the text
- 5
- the first edition with it
- 2006
- the latest edition with it
- 2025
Published as “Trafficking in persons” (2006 to 2025).
field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe edition shownChoose an edition on the strip beside the text, or step through them with the arrows. Mark changes compares it with the edition before: the marks are ours, words added and words removed.
2025 edition
Changed since 2024The same text in 2006 and 2007.
- current situation:
- Macau is a transit and destination territory for women trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation;
- most females in Macau's sizeable sex industry come from the interior regions of China or Mongolia, though a significant number also come from Russia, Eastern Europe, Thailand, and Vietnam;
- the majority of women in Macau's prostitution trade appear to have entered Macau and the sex trade voluntarily, though there is evidence that some are deceived or coerced into sexual servitude, often through the use of debt bondage;
- organized criminal syndicates are reportedly involved in bringing women to Macau, and fear of reprisals from these groups may prevent some women from seeking help
- tier rating:
- Tier 2 Watch List - Macau is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to show evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking since 2004
current situation: Macau is a transit and destination territory for women trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; most females in Macau's sizeable sex industry come from the interior regions of China or Mongolia, though a significant number also come from Russia, Eastern Europe, Thailand, and Vietnam; the majority of women in Macau's prostitution trade appear to have entered Macau and the sex trade voluntarily, though there is evidence that some are deceived or coerced into sexual servitude, often through the use of debt bondage; organized criminal syndicates are reportedly involved in bringing women to Macau, and fear of reprisals from these groups may prevent some women from seeking help
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Macau is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to show evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking since 2004
The entry for Macau did not include Trafficking in persons.
- current situation:
- 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
- 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)
Rewritten: too little of the 2007 text remains to mark the changes.
current situation: 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
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)
- 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
current situation: 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 industrytier 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
- tier rating:
- Tier 3 — Macau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore Macau was downgraded to Tier 3;
- the government took some steps to address trafficking, including investigating one potential case, disseminating awareness-raising materials, and maintaining guidelines for identifying and referring victims to services;
- however, for the third consecutive year officials did not identify or provide services to any victims, nor initiate any prosecutions;
- Macau has not convicted a trafficker since 2019 and has never identified a victim of forced labor (2022)
- trafficking profile:
- human traffickers exploit foreign victims in Macau;
- traffickers recruit most victims from mainland China, Russia, and Southeast Asia using false job offers;
- adult and child victims are forced into commercial sex in casinos, hotels, and private homes, and sometimes have their documents confiscated;
- Casinos and other establishments reportedly allow staff to partner with criminal networks to facilitate sex trafficking;
- migrant construction and domestic workers, primarily from mainland China, Indonesia, and the Philippines may be vulnerable to forced labor in Macau (2022)
Rewritten: too little of the 2022 text remains to mark the changes.
tier rating: Tier 3 — Macau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore Macau was downgraded to Tier 3; the government took some steps to address trafficking, including investigating one potential case, disseminating awareness-raising materials, and maintaining guidelines for identifying and referring victims to services; however, for the third consecutive year officials did not identify or provide services to any victims, nor initiate any prosecutions; Macau has not convicted a trafficker since 2019 and has never identified a victim of forced labor (2022)
trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit foreign victims in Macau; traffickers recruit most victims from mainland China, Russia, and Southeast Asia using false job offers; adult and child victims are forced into commercial sex in casinos, hotels, and private homes, and sometimes have their documents confiscated; Casinos and other establishments reportedly allow staff to partner with criminal networks to facilitate sex trafficking; migrant construction and domestic workers, primarily from mainland China, Indonesia, and the Philippines may be vulnerable to forced labor in Macau (2022)
- tier rating:
- Tier 3 — Macau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Macau remained on Tier 3;
- for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/macau/
Rewritten: too little of the 2023 text remains to mark the changes.
tier rating: Tier 3 — Macau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Macau remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/macau/
- tier rating:
- Tier 3 — Macau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Macau remained on Tier 3;
- for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/macau
tier rating: Tier 3 — Macau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Macau remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/macau/ https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/macau
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Cite this page
Central Intelligence Agency. “Macau: Trafficking in persons.” The World Factbook, 2006–2025 editions. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/macau/trafficking-in-persons.