Background: 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.

Geographic coordinates: 22 10 N, 113 33 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 28.2 km²
Land: 28.2 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 237
Comparative: less than one-sixth the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries
Total: 3 km
Regional borders: China 3 km

Coastline: 41 km

Maritime claims: not specified

Climate: subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

Terrain: generally flat

Elevation: 0 m
Note: lowest point: South China Sea

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use
Agricultural land: 0% (2011 est.)
Forest: 0% (2011 est.)
Other: 100% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 0 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: typhoons

Geography
Note: essentially urban; an area of land reclaimed from the sea measuring 5.2 km² and known as Cotai now connects the islands of Coloane and Taipa; the island area is connected to the mainland peninsula by three bridges

Population
Distribution: population fairly equally distributed: note: Macau's statistical agency estimated the total population to be approximately 648,550 as of September 2017
Note: (July 2017 est.) (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 170
Growth rate: 0.71% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 141
Below poverty line note: NA

Nationality
Noun: Chinese
Adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Chinese 88.7%, Portuguese 1.1%, mixed 1.1%, other 9.2% (includes Macanese - mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry) (2016 est.)

Languages:

Religions: folk religion 58.9%, Buddhist 17.3%, Christian 7.2%, other 1.2%, none 15.4% (2010 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.92% (male 43,730 /female 40,651)
15-24 years: 11.22% (male 35,874 /female 32,146)
25-54 years: 49.75% (male 134,301 /female 167,359)
55-64 years: 13.95% (male 42,409 /female 42,174)
65 years and over: 11.16% (male 31,689 /female 36,007) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 26.6 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 15.7 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 10.9 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 9.2 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 39.8 years
Male: 39.9 years
Female: 39.7 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 51

Population growth rate: 0.71% (2018 est.)
Rank: 141

Birth rate: 8.4 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 217

Death rate: 4.6 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 203

Net migration rate: 3.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 32

Population distribution: population fairly equally distributed

Urbanization
Urban population: 100% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.63% annual rate of change

Environment
Current issues: air pollution; coastal waters pollution; insufficient policies in reducing and recycling solid wastes; increasing population density worsening noise pollution
International agreements party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
0-14 years: 1.09 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1.11 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 0.8 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.1 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 3.2 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Female: 2.9 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Rank: 211

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 84.6 years (2018 est.)
Male: 81.6 years (2018 est.)
Female: 87.7 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 4

Total fertility rate: 0.95 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 223

Physicians density: 2.41 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate note: NA
People living with hivaids note: NA
Deaths note: NA

Education expenditures: 3% of GDP (2015)
Rank: 144

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2016 est.)
Total population: 96.5% (2016 est.)
Male: 98.2% (2016 est.)
Female: 95% (2016 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years (2015)
Male: 14 years (2015)
Female: 15 years (2015)

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: presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

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

Independence: none (special administrative region 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 Peoples Republic of China serves as Macaus constitution) (2018)
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 Macaus deputies to the NPC, and consent of the Macau chief executive; final passage requires approval by the NPC; amended 2005, 2012 (2018)

Legal system: civil law system based on the Portuguese model

Citizenship: see China

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 Fernando CHUI Sai On (since 20 December 2009)
Cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the chief executive
Electionsappointments: president indirectly elected by National Peoples 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 29 August 2014 (next to be held in 2019);
Election results: Fernando CHUI Sai On reelected chief executive; Election Committee vote - 380 of 396

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 17 September 2017 (next to be held in 2021)
Election results: percent of vote - UMG 10%, UPD 9.7%, ACUM 8.6%, NE 8.3%, UPP 7.2, ANMD 6.6%, NUDM 6.1%, ACDM 5.9%, APMD 5.8%, Civic Watch 5.6%, ABL 5.5%, ANPM 5.3%, other 15.4%; seats by political group - UMG 2, UPD 2, ABL 1, ACDM 1, ACUM 1, ANMD 1, ANPM 1, APMD 1, Civic Watch 1, NE 1, NUDM 1, UPP 1; 12 seats filled by professional and business groups; 7 members appointed by the chief executive; composition - men 27, women 6, percent of women 18.6%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: 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:

International organization participation: ICC (national committees), IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (Special Administrative Region of China)
From the us: 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 symbols: lotus blossom; national colors: green, white, yellow

National anthem: note: as a Special Administrative Region of China, 'Yiyongjun Jinxingqu' is the official anthem (see China)

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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 98

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 6

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 4

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 24.2% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 9.9% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 18.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.8% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 79.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -32% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0% (2016 est.)
Industry: 6.3% (2017 est.)
Services: 93.7% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: 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

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

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (2017 est.)
Rank: 131

Labor force: 400,000 (2017 est.)
Rank: 159
By occupation agriculture: 2.5%
By occupation industry: 9.8%
By occupation services: 4.4%
By occupation industry and services: 12.4%
By occupation agriculturefishingforestrymining: 15%
By occupation manufacturing: 25.9%
By occupation construction: 7.1%
By occupation transportation and utilities: 2.6%
By occupation commerce: 20.3% (2013 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 18

Population below poverty line
Note: NA

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 98

Budget
Revenues: 14.71 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 9.684 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 10% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 2

Taxes and other revenues: 29.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 85

Public debt:
Rank: 210

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 65

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 145

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 86

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 88

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 93

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 44

Current account balance:
Rank: 18

Exports:
Rank: 155
Partners: Hong Kong 58.5%, China 18.8% (2017)
Commodities: clothing, textiles, footwear, toys, electronics, machinery and parts

Imports:
Rank: 94
Commodities: raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, consumer goods (foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco, garments and footwear, motor vehicles), capital goods, mineral fuels and oils
Partners: China 33.9%, Italy 9.3%, Hong Kong 9%, France 7.5%, Switzerland 7.4%, Japan 7.2%, US 4.4% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 59

Debt external:
Rank: 207

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 81

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 89

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access population without electricity: 59,742 (2012)
Access electrification total population: 91% (2012)
Access electrification urban areas: 91% (2012)
Access electrification rural areas: 72% (2012)
Production: 929 million kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 154
Consumption: 5.077 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 123
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 162
Imports: 4.306 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 43
Installed generating capacity: 472,000 kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 150
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 12
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 132
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 184
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 200

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 164
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 157
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 156
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 160

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 168
Products consumption: 12,700 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 158
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 174
Products imports: 14,180 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 137

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 161
Consumption: 178.2 million m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 107
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 142
Imports: 175.5 million m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 73
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 162

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 2.563 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 153

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 142,000 (July 2016 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 24 (July 2016 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 131
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 1,969,972 (July 2016 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 327 (July 2016 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 150

Telephone system
General assessment: modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services; high moible subscriber numbers and mobile penetration with 4 network operators and a mobile virtual network operator (MNVO), offering 4 G and LTE services; 5G wireless technology for commerical use in 2020, possible synchronizing with neighbouring regions (2017)
Domestic: fixed-line 24 per 100 and mobile-celluar 327 per 100 subscriptions (2017)
International: country code - 853; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; HF radiotelephone communication facility; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2016)

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 (2015)

Internet
Country code: .mo
Users total: 460,000 (July 2016 est.)
Users percent of population: 77.6% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 150

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 177,959 (2017 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 30 (2017 est.)
Rank: 111

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1
Note: mt-km (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 17
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 2,276,436 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 25.435 million

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: B-M (2016)

Airports: 1 (2013)
Rank: 227
With paved runways total: 1 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2017)

Heliports: 2 (2013)

Roadways
Total: 427 km (2016)
Paved: 427 km (2016)
Rank: 200

Merchant marine
Total: 1 (2017)
By type: other 1 (2017)
Rank: 174

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Macau

Disputes international: none

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