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 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 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.

Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

22 10 N, 113 33 E

Southeast Asia

less than one-sixth the size of Washington, DC

41 km

not specified

subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

generally flat

NEGL

NA

typhoons

NA

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

559,846 (July 2009 est.)

1.995% (2009 est.)

8.88 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

3.5 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

14.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

0.91 children born/woman (2009 est.)

NA

NA

NA

Chinese 94.3%, other 5.7% (includes Macanese - mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry) (2006 census)

Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none or other 35% (1997 est.)

Cantonese 85.7%, Hokkien 4%, Mandarin 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 2.7%, English 1.5%, Tagalog 1.3%, other 1.6% (2001 census)

2.4% of GDP (2005)

special administrative region of China

limited democracy

none (special administrative region of the People's Republic of China)

none (special administrative region of China)

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

Basic Law, approved on 31 March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution"

based on Portuguese civil law system

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

unicameral Legislative Assembly (29 seats; 12 members elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; serve four-year terms)

Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region

New Hope [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]; Union for Promoting Progress [LEONG Heng-teng]

Civic Power [Agnes LAM Lok-fong]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO]; Macau Worker's Union [HO Heng-kuok]; Roman Catholic Church; Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]

IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WFTU, WMO, WTO

none (special administrative region of China)

the US has no offices in Macau; US Consulate General in Hong Kong is accredited to Macau

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 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

Macau's economy has enjoyed strong growth in recent years on the back of its expanding tourism and gaming sectors. After opening up its locally-controlled casino industry to foreign competition in 2001, the territory attracted tens of billions of dollars in foreign investment, transforming Macao into the world's largest gaming center. By 2006, Macau's gaming revenue surpassed that of the Las Vegas strip, and gaming-related taxes accounted for 75% of total government revenue. In 2008, government revenue from gaming was set to double 2006 collections. The expanding casino sector, and China's decision beginning in 2002 to relax travel restrictions, reenergized Macau's tourism industry. This city of just over 500,000 hosted more than 30 million visitors in 2008. Almost 60% of these came from mainland China, despite increasing restrictions on travel to the SAR. Macau's traditional manufacturing industry has been in a slow decline since the termination of the Multi-Fiber Agreement in 2005. In 2008, exports of textiles and garments generated only $1.1 billion, compared to $13.7 billion in gross gaming receipts. The Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Macau and mainland China that came into effect on 1 January 2004 offers many Macau-made products tariff-free access to the mainland. Macau's currency, the Pataca, is closely tied to the Hong Kong dollar, which is also freely accepted in the territory.

$18.14 billion (2008 est.)

$12.5 billion (2006)

$22.04 billion (2008 est.)

15% (2008)

16.6% (2006)

$30,000 (2007)

$28,400 (2006)

337,400 (2008 est.)

manufacturing 7.4%, construction 12.6%, transport and communications 5%, wholesale and retail trade 12.5%, restaurants and hotels 12.7%, gambling 14%, public sector 6%, financial services 2.1%, other services and agriculture 27.7% (2008)

3% (2008)

3.1% (2006)

NA%

6.2% (December 2008)

7.2% (2006)

5.25% (31 December 2008)

$2.66 billion (31 December 2008)

$1.16 billion (31 December 2007)

$20.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$21.91 billion (31 December 2007)

$11.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$NA (31 December 2007)

$2.3 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

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

tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys

NA

1.106 billion kWh (2008 est.)

3.311 billion kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

2.215 billion kWh (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

7,942 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008)

5,027 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

81.6 million cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

81.9 million cu m (2008 est.)

300,000 cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

$2 billion f.o.b.; note - includes reexports (2008 est.)

clothing, textiles, footwear, toys, electronics, machinery and parts

US 40.6%, China 14.8%, Hong Kong 13.1%, Germany 6.4%, UK 4% (2007)

$5.4 billion c.i.f. (2008 est.)

raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, consumer goods (foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco), capital goods, mineral fuels and oils

China 42.6%, Hong Kong 10.1%, Japan 9%, US 5.6%, Germany 4.4%, France 4.2% (2007)

$0 (2006)

$7.9 billion (2007)

$1.9 billion (2007)

patacas (MOP) per US dollar - 8.011 (2007), 8.0015 (2006), 8.011 (2005), 8.022 (2004), 8.021 (2003)

177,851 (2008)

856,200 (2008)

AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2008)

1 (2008)

.mo

263 (2008)

300,000 (2007)

1 (2008)

1 (2007)

Macau

no regular military forces; defense is the responsibility of China (2009)

defense is the responsibility of China

none

transshipment point for drugs going into mainland China; consumer of opiates and amphetamines