Macau




                                  Header


Affiliation:
     (overseas territory of Portugal)


                                 Geography


Location:
     Eastern Asia, 27 km west-southwest of Hong Kong on the southeast coast
     of China bordering the South China Sea
Map references:
     Asia, Oceania, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     16 sq km
land area:
     16 sq km
comparative area:
     about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
     total 0.34 km, China 0.34 km
Coastline:
     40 km
Maritime claims:
     not specified
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers
Terrain:
     generally flat
Natural resources:
     negligible
Land use:
arable land:
     0%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     0%
forest and woodland:
     0%
other:
     100%
Irrigated land:
     NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
     NA
natural hazards:
     NA
international agreements:
     party to - Ozone Layer Protection




Note:
     essentially urban; one causeway and one bridge connect the two islands
     to the peninsula on mainland


                                  People


Population:
     484,557 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.35% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     14.78 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     4.12 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     2.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     5.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     79.75 years
male:
     77.33 years
female:
     82.3 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     1.46 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Macanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Ethnic divisions:
     Chinese 95%, Portuguese 3%, other 2%
Religions:
     Buddhist 45%, Roman Catholic 7%, Protestant 1%, none 45.8%, other 1.2%
     (1981)
Languages:
     Portuguese (official), Cantonese is the language of commerce
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1981)
total population:
     90%
male:
     93%
female:
     86%
Labor force:
     180,000 (1986)
by occupation:
     NA


                                Government




Names:
conventional long form:
     none
conventional short form:
local long form:
     none
local short form:
     Ilha de Macau
Digraph:
     MC
Type:
     overseas territory of Portugal scheduled to revert to China in 1999
Capital:
Administrative divisions:
     2 districts (concelhos, singular - concelho); Ilhas, Macau
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 year after transition)
National holiday:
     Day of Portugal, 10 June (1580)
Constitution:
     17 February 1976, Organic Law of Macau; basic law drafted primarily by
     Beijing awaiting final approval
Legal system:
     Portuguese civil law system
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     President (of Portugal) Mario Alberto SOARES (since 9 March 1986)
head of government:
     Governor Gen. Vasco Joachim Rocha VIEIRA (since 20 March 1991)
cabinet:
     Consultative Council; consists of five members appointed by the
     governor, two nominated by the governor, five members elected for a
     four-year term (2 represent administrative bodies, 1 represents moral,
     cultural, and welfare interests, and 2 economic interests), and three
     statuatory members
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
Legislative Assembly:
     elections last held on 10 March 1991; results - percent of vote by
     party NA; seats - (23 total; 8 elected by universal suffrage, 8 by
     indirect suffrage, and 7 appointed by the governor) number of seats by
     party NA
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
     Association to Defend the Interests of Macau; Macau Democratic Center;
     Group to Study the Development of Macau; Macau Independent Group




Other political or pressure groups:
     wealthy Macanese and Chinese representing local interests, wealthy
     pro-Communist merchants representing China's interests; in January
     1967 the Macau Government acceded to Chinese demands that gave China
     veto power over administration
Member of:
     ESCAP (associate), GATT, IMO (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), WTO
     (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US:
     none (Chinese territory under Portuguese administration)
US diplomatic representation:
     the US has no offices in Macau, and US interests are monitored by the
     US Consulate General in Hong Kong
Flag:
     the flag of Portugal is used


                                  Economy


Overview:
     The economy is based largely on tourism (including gambling) and
     textile and fireworks manufacturing. Efforts to diversify have spawned
     other small industries - toys, artificial flowers, and electronics.
     The tourist sector has accounted for roughly 25% of GDP, and the
     clothing industry has provided about two-thirds of export earnings;
     the gambling industry represented well over 40% of GDP in 1992. Macau
     depends on China for most of its food, fresh water, and energy
     imports. Japan and Hong Kong are the main suppliers of raw materials
     and capital goods.
National product:
     GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3.5 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     12% (1992)
National product per capita:
     $7,300 (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     7.7% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     2% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $305 million
expenditures:
     $298 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)
Exports:
     $1.8 billion (1992 est.)
commodities:
     textiles, clothing, toys
partners:
     US 35%, Hong Kong 12.5%, Germany 12%, China 9.9%, France 8% (1992
     est.)
Imports:
     $2 billion (1992 est.)
commodities:
     raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods




partners:
     Hong Kong 33%, China 20%, Japan 18% (1992 est.)
External debt:
     $91 million (1985)
Industrial production:
     growth rate NA%
Electricity:
capacity:
     258,000 kW
production:
     855 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     1,806 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     clothing, textiles, toys, plastic products, furniture, tourism
Agriculture:
     rice, vegetables; food shortages - rice, vegetables, meat; depends
     mostly on imports for food requirements
Economic aid:
     none
Currency:
     1 pataca (P) = 100 avos
Exchange rates:
     patacas (P) per US$1 - 8.034 (1991-93), 8.024 (1990), 8.030 (1989);
     note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per
     Hong Kong dollar
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Highways:
total:
     42 km
paved:
     42 km
Ports:
Airports:
     none usable, 1 under construction; 1 seaplane station
Telecommunications:
     fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and
     international services; 52,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 4 AM,
     3 FM, no TV (TV programs received from Hong Kong); 115,000 radio
     receivers (est.); international high-frequency radio communication
     facility; access to international communications carriers provided via
     Hong Kong and China; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station


                              Defense Forces


Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 139,499; fit for military service 77,887
Note:
     defense is responsibility of Portugal