Macau
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

location

22.10° N, 113. 33° E
Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

area

28.2 sq km
land
28.2 sq km
water
0 sq km

land boundaries

3 km

coastline

41 km

climate

subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

terrain

generally flat

elevation

lowest point
South China Sea
0
highest point
Alto Coloane
172

natural resources

  • NEGL

land use

  • arable land
  • permanent crops
  • permanent pasture
  • forest
  • other

population distribution

population fairly equally distributed

people

population

  • 614,458
  • 170
    global rank

nationality

  • Chinese
    noun
  • Chinese
    adjective

ethnic groups

Chinese
88.7 %
Portuguese
1.1 %
mixed
1.1 %
other
9.2 %

languages

  • Cantonese
  • Mandarin
  • other Chinese dialects
  • Tagalog
  • English
  • Portuguese
  • other

religions

folk religionist
58.9 %
Buddhist
17.3 %
Christian
7.2 %
other
1.2 %
none
15.4 %

birth rate

  • 7.9
    per 1,000 population
  • 224
    global rank

death rate

  • 4.9
    per 1,000 population
  • 201
    global rank

urban population

100 %

life expectancy

  • 84.6
    total population
  • 4
    global rank
81.7
male
87.7
female

government

government type

executive-led limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

independence

national holidays

  • National Day
    1 October

legal system

civil law system based on the Portuguese model

age of suffrage

18

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 colors

  • green
  • white
  • yellow

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 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.

GDP

77,330,000,000 USD
2018

agriculture products

  • fishing

budget

  • 14,710,000,000
    revenue (USD)
  • 9,684,000,000
    expenditures (USD)

communications

telephones

    fixed lines

  • 123,469
    total subscriptions
  • 137
    global rank

    mobile cellular

  • 2,181,194
    total subscriptions
  • 148
    global rank

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)

internet

.mo
country code

    users

  • 508,052
    total
  • 83.79
    % of population
  • 152
    global rank

energy

electricity access

100%
2016

transportation

air transport

    national system

  • 1
    registered air carriers
  • 2,276,436
    annual passenger traffic

    airports

  • 1
    total
  • 1
    paved

roadways

428 km
total length

military

This entry doesn't have any available military data.