(overseas territory of Portugal)

Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Geographic coordinates: 22 10 N, 113 33 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
total : 16 sq km
land: 16 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
total: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims: not specified

Climate: subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

Terrain: generally flat

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 174 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other : 100% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: NA

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Ozone Layer Protection (extended from Portugal)
signed, but not ratified: NA

Geography - note: essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands to the peninsula on mainland

Population: 461,833 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 21.8% (male 52,262; female 48,439)
15-64 years: 70.9% (male 154,942; female 172,647)
65 years and over: 7.3% (male 13,616; female 19,927) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.75% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 12.19 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate:9.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over : 0.71 male(s)/female 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population : 80.05 years
male: 77.57 years
female : 82.65 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.53 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Macanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Macau

Ethnic groups: Chinese 95%, Portuguese 3%, other 2%

Religions: Buddhist 45%, Roman Catholic 7%, Protestant 1%, none 45.8%, other 1.2% (1981)

Languages: Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese)

Literacy:
definition : age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90%
male: 93%
female: 86% (1981 est.)

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

Data code: MC

Dependency status: overseas territory of Portugal; note - scheduled to revert to China on 20 December 1999

Government type: NA

National capital: Macau

Administrative divisions: none (special administrative region of China)

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 years after transition)

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: Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution"

Legal system: Portuguese civil law system

Suffrage: direct election 18 years of age, 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

Executive branch:
chief of state:President of China JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993)
head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of all five government secretaries, three legislators, and two businessmen
elections: chief executive chosen by a 200-member selection committee for up to two five-year terms

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (23 seats; 8 elected by popular vote, 8 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the governor; members serve four-year terms)
elections: llast held 23 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by political bloc - Entertainment Industry 3, pro-democracy 2, pro-Beijing Labor Union 2, pro-Beijing Neighborhood Association 2, pro-business 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, consisting of five magistrates including the president; lower court judges appointed for three-year terms by the governor

Political parties and leaders: there are no formal political parties, however, there are civic associations that, for purposes of legislative voting, join together to form political blocs

Political pressure groups and leaders:Catholic Church [Domingos LAM, bishop]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO, managing director]; Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong, leader]

International organization participation: CCC, ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (special administrative region of China)

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

Flag description: light 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 center of arc and four smaller

Economy - overview:Macau's economy two years after reversion to China remains one of the most open in the world, according to the World Trade Organization. The government collects no duty on imports and sets no restrictions on exports beyond those required by international agreements. The territory's net exports of goods and services account for 35% of GDP, with tourism and apparel exports as the mainstays. The territory therefore has been hit hard by the 2001 downturn in its key US and EU export markets. Tourism remained strong, however, driven by a surge in visitors from mainland China. In response to the expected contraction of the economy in 2002, the government has announced a stimulative income tax cut and public works program that will push the budget into deficit. China already has extended support by easing restrictions on travel to Macau and is proposing a China-Hong Kong-Macau free trade area. China's economic weight is increasingly felt, with the mainland now holding more than 50% of assets in the financial, real estate, and construction sectors. Mainlanders, however, have been excluded from bidding on the gambling industry licenses that Macau is offering to break up the territory's four-decade-old gambling monopoly. Gambling taxes account for up to 60% of revenue, and the government with Beijing's backing intends to revitalize the industry

GDP: purchasing power parity - $8 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 0.5% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture : 1%
industry:25%
services:74% (2000 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: -2% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
total : 218,000 (2001)
by occupation: restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 54% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:6.5% (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues:$1.15 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $166 million (2000 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - capacity: 260,000 kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 1.4 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 1.476 billion kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: rice, vegetables

Exports:
total value: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
commodities: textiles, clothing, toys
partners: US 48%, EU 28%, China 10%, Hong Kong 7% (2000)

Imports:
total value : $1.99 billion (c.i.f.,1996 est.)
commodities: raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods
partners: Hong Kong 33%, China 20%, Japan 18% (1992 est.)

Debt - external: $1.5 billion (1998)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 pataca(MOP) = 100 avos

Exchange rates: patacas per US dollar - 8.033 (January 2002), 8.034 (2001), 8.026 (2000), 7.992 (1999), 7.979 (1998), 7.975 (1997); note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 176,902 (November 2001)

Telephone system: fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services
domestic: NA
international: HF radiotelephone communication facility; access to international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and China; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 160,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 0
note: TV programs received from Hong Kong

Televisions: 49,000 (1997)

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 50 km
paved : 50 km
unpaved: 0 km (2001)

Ports and harbors: Macau

Merchant marine: none

Airports: 1 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2001)

Military branches: no regular indigenous military forces; responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there is a local police force

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 128,005 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males : 70,508 (2002 est.)

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Portugal

Disputes - international: none