Macau

"Macao" redirects here. For other uses, see Macau (disambiguation).

Macau
澳門
Special administrative region
Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Other official names
  • Chinese:中華人民共和國澳門特別行政區
    Cantonese Yale romanisation:Jūng'wàh Yàhnmàhn Guhng'wòhgwok Oumún Dahkbiht Hàhngjingkēui
    Portuguese:Região Administrativa Especial de Macau da República Popular da China
Flag of Macau
Flag
Official seal of Macau
Emblem
Location of Macau within China
Location of Macau within China
Sovereign stateChina
Portuguese lease1557
Treaty of Peking1 December 1887
Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration26 March 1987
Handover of Macau20 December 1999
Largest parish
by population		Nossa Senhora de Fátima
Official languages
Regional languages
Official scripts
Ethnic groups
(2016)
88.4% Han Chinese
4.6% Filipino
2.4% Vietnamese
1.7% Portuguese
2.8% other[3]
Demonym(s)Macau[c]
GovernmentDevolved executive-led government within a unitary one-party state[6]
Ho Iat Seng
André Cheong Weng Chon
Kou Hoi In
Sam Hou Fai
LegislatureLegislative Assembly
National representation
• National People's Congress
12 deputies
• Chinese People's
Political Consultative
Conference
29 delegates[7]
Area
• Total
115.3 km2 (44.5 sq mi)
• Water (%)
73.7
Highest elevation
(Alto de Coloane)
172.4 m (565.6 ft)
Population
• 2024 estimate
712,651
• Density
20,300/km2 (52,576.8/sq mi) (1st)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $92.885 billion[8] (101st)
• Per capita
Increase $125,510[8] (4th)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $54.677 billion[8] (90th)
• Per capita
Increase $78,962[8] (9th)
Gini (2018)36.0[9]
medium
HDI (2022)Increase 0.925[d]
very high · 24th
CurrencyMacanese pataca (MOP)
Time zoneUTC+08:00 (Macau Standard Time)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
yyyy年mm月dd日
Mains electricity220 V–50 Hz
Driving sideleft
Calling code+853
ISO 3166 code
Internet TLD
Licence plate prefixesNone for local vehicles, 粤Z for cross-boundary vehicles

Macau[e] or Macao[f] is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. With a population of about 710,000 people[11] and a land area of 32.9 km2 (12.7 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world.

Formerly a Portuguese colony, the territory of Portuguese Macau was first leased to Portugal by the Ming dynasty as a trading post in 1557. Portugal paid an annual rent and administered the territory under Chinese sovereignty until 1887. Portugal later gained perpetual colonial rights in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until the 1999 handover to China. Macau is a special administrative region of China, which maintains separate governing and economic systems from those of mainland China under the principle of "one country, two systems".[12] The unique blend of Portuguese and Chinese architecture in the city's historic centre has resulted in its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005.[13]

Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands,[14] Macau, often referred to as the "Las Vegas of the East", since the late 20th century has become a major resort city and a top destination for gambling tourism. Its gambling industry is seven times larger than that of Las Vegas.[15] The city has one of the highest GDPs per capita and GDPs per capita by purchasing power parity in the world.[16][17]

It has a very high Human Development Index of 0.925, as calculated by the Government of Macau,[10] and the fourth-highest life expectancy in the world.[18] The territory is highly urbanised, holding the status of the most densely populated territory on Earth; two-thirds of the total land area is built on land reclaimed from the sea.[19]

  1. ^ a b "Macau" Archived 24 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference official-lang was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Population By-Census 2016, p. 6.
  4. ^ "What are the characteristics of Macanese people?". Macau Daily Times. 10 October 2012. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  5. ^ Clayton, Cathryn H. (2010). Sovereignty at the Edge: Macau & the Question of Chineseness. Harvard University Press. pp. 110–113. ISBN 978-0674035454.
  6. ^ "China (People's Republic of) 1982 (rev. 2004)". Constitute project. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Local NPC Deputies' Election Slated for Dec 17". Macau News. 27 November 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: April 2024". imf.org. International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  9. ^ "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Macau in Figures, 2024". 澳門統計暨普查局(DSEC). p. 4. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Macao Population (2024)". Worldometer. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  12. ^ Landler 1999.
  13. ^ "Historic Centre of Macao". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  14. ^ du Cros 2009, p. 75.
  15. ^ Sheng & Gu 2018, p. 72.
  16. ^ "'GDP per capita, PPP (current international $)', World Development Indicators database". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  17. ^ Sheng & Gu 2018, pp. 77–78.
  18. ^ "Macau". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  19. ^ Grydehøj 2015, p. 102.


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