Data at glance of Macau - average on period

History

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.  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.

Environment

Area: 28 km2

Climate: subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

Natural resources: NEGL

Ethnic characteristics

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% (2021 est.)major-language sample(s):

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

Government

Capital: None

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

Executive branch

Chief of state: President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013)

Head of government: Chief Executive Sam Hou FAI (since 20 December 2024)cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the chief executiveelection/appointment process: president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); chief executive chosen by a 400-member Election Committee for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term)most recent election date: president: 10 March 2023chief executive: 13 October 2024election results: 2024: Sam Hou FAI (unopposed; received 394 out of 400 votes)2019: HO lat Seng (unopposed; received 392 out of 400 votes)expected date of next election: president: March 2028chief executive: 2029

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: Legislative Assembly (Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 33 (14 directly elected, 12 indirectly elected, 7 appointed)electoral system: mixedscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 9/12/2021parties elected and seats per party: United Citizens Association of Macau (ACUM) (3); Union for Development (UPD) (2); Macau-Guangdong Union (UGM) (2); Union for Promoting Progress (UPP) (2); Alliance for a Happy Home (ABL) (2); New Hope (NE) (2); Association of Synergy of Macau (PS) (1)expected date of next election: September 2025