Macau

Portuguese ships began arriving in 1513. In the 1550s, Portuguese paying tribute to China settled in Macau, which became the official entrepôt for all international trade with China and Japan and the first European settlement in the Far East.  The first governor was appointed in the 17th century, but the Portuguese remained largely under the control of the Chinese. In the 1930s and ’40s Macau was declared a neutral territory during the Sino-Japanese War and World War II and became a refuge for both Chinese and Europeans. Portugal officially made Macau an overseas province in 1951.  <br><br>In April 1987, Portugal and China reached an agreement to return Macau to Chinese rule in 1999, using the Hong Kong Joint Declaration between China and the UK as a model. 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 next 50 years. However, after China's multi-year crackdown against the pro-democracy movement in nearby Hong Kong, the governments of China and the Macau Special Administrative Region worked to limit Macau's political autonomy by suppressing opposition activity in the 2021 legislative elections.

Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

22 10 N, 113 33 E

Southeast Asia

less than one-sixth the size of Washington, D.C.

41 km

not specified

subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

generally flat

NEGL

0 sq km (2012)

population fairly equally distributed

typhoons

primarily urban; an area of land reclaimed from the sea measuring 5.2 sq km (2 sq mi) and known as Cotai now connects the islands of Coloane and Taipa; the island area is connected to the mainland peninsula by three bridges

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.)

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

0.64% (2025 est.)

8.31 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

3.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

population fairly equally distributed

682,000 Macau (2023)

1.25 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.61 (2025 est.)

6.3% of GDP (2020 est.)

air pollution; coastal water pollution; solid-waste disposal; noise pollution

subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

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

special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

civil law system based on the Portuguese model

see China

18 years of age in direct elections for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past 7 years

Alliance for a Happy Home or ABL<br>Association of Synergy of Macau ("Synergy Power" or Poder da Singeria) or PS <br>Macau-Guangdong Union or UGM <br>New Hope or NE <br>Union for Development or UPD <br>Union for Promoting Progress or UPP or UNIPRO <br>United Citizens Association of Macau or ACUM

none (Special Administrative Region of China)

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

none (special administrative region of China)

National Day (anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949)

<strong>description:</strong> green with a lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, under an arc of five five-pointed gold stars<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> the lotus is the national floral emblem, and the three petals represent the country's peninsula and two islands; the five stars echo the Chinese flag

lotus blossom

green, white, yellow

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

$50.183 billion (2024 est.)

pork, chicken, beef, eggs, pork offal, pork fat, pepper, beef offal, cattle hides, goose meat (2023)

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

6.8% (2023 est.)

382,100 (2024 est.)

22.8% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Hong Kong 73%, China 6%, USA 6%, Philippines 3%, Singapore 1% (2023)

jewelry, garments, broadcasting equipment, precious metal watches, video and card games (2023)

China 36%, Hong Kong 17%, USA 6%, France 6%, Japan 5% (2023)

jewelry, garments, trunks and cases, broadcasting equipment, electricity (2023)

local government dominates broadcast media; 2 TV 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)

.mo

B-M

1 (2025)

4 (2025)

Macau Public Security Police Force

defense is the responsibility of China; the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) maintains a garrison in Macau