]! ^! 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 (SAR) of China on 20 December 1999. China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be practiced in Macau, and that Macau will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years. 
]" ^" Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China ^# 22 10 N, 113 33 E ^$ Southeast Asia ^% `! 28.2 sq km `" 28.2 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& less than one-sixth the size of Washington, DC ^' `! 0.34 km regional border: China 0.34 km ^( 41 km ^) not specified ^* subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers ^+ generally flat ^, `% South China Sea 0 m `& Coloane Alto 172.4 m ^- NEGL ^. `' 0% `( 0% `) 100% (2005) ^/ NA ^0 typhoons ^1 NA _P `P Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member) ^2 essentially urban; an area of land reclaimed from the sea measuring 5.2 sq km and known as Cotai now connects the islands of Coloane and Taipa; the island area is connected to the mainland peninsula by three bridges 
]# ^3 456,989 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 15.4% (male 36,413/female 33,981) `, 76.6% (male 166,797/female 183,088) `- 8% (male 15,541/female 21,169) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 36.6 years `. 36 years `/ 36.9 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.841% (2007 est.) ^7 8.57 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 4.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 4.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.072 male(s)/female `, 0.911 male(s)/female `- 0.734 male(s)/female `2 0.918 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births `. 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 4.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 82.27 years `. 79.44 years `/ 85.25 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.03 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Chinese `4 Chinese ^B Chinese 95.7%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry) 1%, other 3.3% (2001 census) ^C Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) ^D Cantonese 87.9%, Hokkien 4.4%, Mandarin 1.6%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 3% (2001 census) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 94.5% `. 97.2% `/ 92% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Macau Special Administrative Region `7 Macau `Z Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) `[ Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese) ^G special administrative region of China ^H limited democracy ^J none (special administrative region of China) ^K none (special administrative region of China) ^L 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 ^M Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" ^N based on Portuguese civil law system ^O direct election 18 years of age, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies ^P `; President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) `< Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999) `= Executive Council consists of one government secretary, three legislators, four businessmen, one pro-Beijing unionist, and one pro-Beijing educator `> chief executive chosen by a 300-member Election Committee for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009) `? Edmund HO Hau-wah reelected received 296 votes; three members submitted blank ballots; one member was absent ^Q unicameral Legislative Assembly (29 seats; 12 elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and seven appointed by the chief executive; members serve four-year terms) `> last held 25 September 2005 (next in September 2009) `? percent of vote - New Democratic Macau Association 18.8%, Macau United Citizens' Association 16.6%, Union for Development 13.3%, Union for Promoting Progress 9.6%, Macau Development Alliance 9.3%, others 32.4%; seats by political group - New Democratic Macau Association 2, Macau United Citizens' Association 2, Union for Development 2, Union for Promoting Progress 2, Macau Development Alliance 1, others 3; 10 seats filled by professional and business groups; seven members appointed by chief executive ^R Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region ^S Civil Service Union [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO]; Development Union [KWAN Tsui-hang]; Macau Development Alliance [Angela LEONG On-kei]; Macau United Citizens' Association [CHAN Meng-kam]; New Democratic Macau Association [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]; United Forces ^T NA ^U IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO ^V none (special administrative region of China) ^W the US has no offices in Macau; US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong ^X light 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 center of arc and four smaller 
]% ^Y Macau's well-to-do economy has remained one of the most open in the world since its reversion to China in 1999. Apparel exports and tourism are mainstays of the economy. Although the territory was hit hard by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and the global downturn in 2001, its economy grew 10.1% in 2002, 14.2% in 2003, and 28.6% in 2004 before slowing to 6.7% in 2005. The economic boom was powered by gambling, tourism, and the construction necessary to support such endeavors. China's decision to ease travel restrictions led to a rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors. The opening of Macau's gaming industry to foreign access in 2001 spurred an increase in public works expenditures. The budget also returned to surplus in 2002 because of the surge in visitors from China and a hike in taxes on gambling profits, which generated about 70% of government revenue. Much of Macau's textile industry may move to the mainland due to the termination in 2005 of the Multi-Fiber Agreement, which provided a near guarantee of export markets, leaving the territory more dependent on gambling and trade-related services to generate growth. The Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Macau and mainland China that came into effect on 1 January 2004 offers many Macau-made products tariff-free access to the mainland. The range of products covered by CEPA was expanded on 1 January 2005. ^Z $10 billion (2004) ^[ $11.56 billion (2005) ^\ 6.7% (2005) ^] $24,300 (2005) ^^ `@ 0.1% `A 7.2% `B 92.7% (2002 est.) ^_ 248,000 (2005) ^` manufacturing 13.7%, construction 10.5%, transport and communications 5.9%, wholesale and retail trade 14.6%, restaurants and hotels 10.3%, gambling 17.9%, public sector 7.8%, other services and agriculture 19.3% (2005 est.) ^a 4.1% (2005) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 4.4% (2005) _$ `E $3.16 billion `F $3.16 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY05/06) _& 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 _' tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys _( NA% _) 2.027 billion kWh (2005) _* 2.159 billion kWh (2005) _+ 1 million kWh (2004) _, 340.8 million kWh (2005) _- 0 bbl/day (2005 est.) _. 12,360 bbl/day (2005 est.) _/ 21 bbl/day (2005) _0 12,840 bbl/day (2005) _1 0 cu m (2005 est.) _2 43.96 million cu m (2005 est.) _3 $3.156 billion f.o.b.; note - includes reexports (2005) _4 clothing, textiles, footwear, toys, electronics, machinery and parts _5 US 48.7%, China 14.9%, Hong Kong 9.8%, Germany 5.9% (2005) _6 $3.912 billion c.i.f. (2005) _7 raw materials and semi-manufactured goods, consumer goods (foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco), capital goods, mineral fuels and oils _8 China 43.1%, Japan 10.9%, Hong Kong 10%, Singapore 5.2%, US 4.1%, Taiwan 4% (2005) _9 $3.1 billion (2004) _: $NA _; pataca (MOP) _< patacas per US dollar - 8.0015 (2006), 8.011 (2005), 8.022 (2004), 8.021 (2003), 8.033 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 174,400 (2005) _? 532,800 (2005) _@ `G fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services `H NA `I country code - 853; HF radiotelephone communication facility; access to international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and China; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) _A AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) _B 1 (2006) _C .mo _D 108 (2006) _E 201,000 (2004) 
]' _F 1 (2006) _G `! 1 `a 1 (2006) _H `! 368 km `K 368 km (2005) _I Macau 
]( _J no regular military forces _K males age 18-49: 112,744 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 91,299 (2005 est.) _M defense is the responsibility of China 
]) _N none __ `f Macau is a transit and destination territory for women trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; most females in Macau's sizeable sex industry come from the interior regions of China or Mongolia, though a significant number also come from Russia, Eastern Europe, Thailand, and Vietnam; the majority of women in Macau's prostitution trade appear to have entered Macau and the sex trade voluntarily, though there is evidence that some are deceived or coerced into sexual servitude, often through the use of debt bondage; organized criminal syndicates are reportedly involved in bringing women to Macau, and fear of reprisals from these groups may prevent some women from seeking help `g Tier 2 Watch List - Macau is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to show evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking since 2004 _O transshipment point for drugs going into mainland China; consumer of opiates and amphetamines 