Territory Name: Macau

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

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. However, following a multi-year crackdown by China against a pro-democracy movement in nearby Hong Kong, the governments of China and the Macau Special Administrative Region similarly worked to limit Macau's political autonomy by suppressing opposition activity in the 2021 legislative elections.

Continent: Asia

Population: 639,971 (2023 est.)

Ethnic Groups: Chinese 89.4%, Chinese and Portuguese 1%, Portuguese 0.8%, Chinese and non-Portuguese 0.2%, Portuguese and others 0.2%, other 8.5% (2021 est.)

Languages: Cantonese 81%, Mandarin 4.7%, other Chinese dialects 5.4%, English 3.6%, Tagalog 2.9%, Portuguese 0.6%, other 1.8%; note - Chinese and Portuguese are official languages; Macanese, a Portuguese-based Creole, is also spoken (2021 est.)

Religions: folk religion 58.9%, Buddhist 17.3%, Christian 7.2%, other 1.2%, none 15.4% (2020 est.)

Economic Overview: high-income, Chinese special administrative region economy; known for apparel exports and gambling tourism; currency pegged to Hong Kong dollar; significant recession due to 2015 Chinese anticorruption campaign; COVID-19 further halved economic activity

Currency: Macanese Pataca (MOP)

Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $25.971 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $36.038 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars

Real GDP Growth Rate: -21.45% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real GDP per Capita: $51,800 (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars

Exports: 

• $19.082 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

• Comparison Ranking: 91

Export Commodities: jewelry, broadcasting equipment, watches, telephones, clothing and apparel (2021)

Export Partners: Hong Kong 66%, China 9% (2019)

Imports: 

• $21.267 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

• Comparison Ranking: 95

Import Commodities: jewelry, watches, electricity, aircraft, cars (2019)

Import Partners: China 33%, Hong Kong 31%, France 5% (2019)

Natural Resources: NEGL

Agricultural Products: pork, poultry, beef, pig fat, pig offals, eggs, pepper, cattle offals, cattle hides, goose/guinea fowl meat

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

Industrial Production Growth Rate: 

• -5.63% (2022 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

• Comparison Ranking: 204

Labor Force: 401,000 (2022 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 2.41% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Natural Hazards: typhoons

Geography:

• Total: 28.2 sq km

• Land: 28.2 sq km

• Water: 0 sq km

(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)

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