Macau (2002) | Australia (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.8% (male 52,262; female 48,439)
15-64 years: 70.9% (male 154,942; female 172,647) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 13,616; female 19,927) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
20.64% (male 2,045,892; female 1,948,949) 15-64 years: 66.86% (male 6,538,096; female 6,405,014) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 1,059,107; female 1,360,536) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, vegetables | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 411 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
271 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 118 914 to 1,523 m: 122 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
140 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 112 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 25.4 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
7,686,850 sq km land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the contiguous 48 states of the US |
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 (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. | Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire in 1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by the British monarch to an independent republic, was defeated in 1999. |
Birth rate | 12.19 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.86 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.15 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $166 million (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$94 billion expenditures: $103 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | - | Canberra |
Climate | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north |
Coastline | 41 km | 25,760 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 |
Country name | conventional long form: Macau Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Macau local long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) local short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese) |
conventional long form:
Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia |
Currency | pataca (MOP) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1998) | $220.6 billion (2000) |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US has no offices in Macau, and US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong | chief of mission:
Ambassador Edward W. GNEHM, Jr. embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Sydney consulate(s): Melbourne and Perth |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael THAWLEY chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory) |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.43 billion (FY97/98) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | Macau's economy two years after reversion to China remains one of the most open in the world, according to the World Trade Organization. The government collects no duty on imports and sets no restrictions on exports beyond those required by international agreements. The territory's net exports of goods and services account for 35% of GDP, with tourism and apparel exports as the mainstays. The territory therefore has been hit hard by the 2001 downturn in its key US and EU export markets. Tourism remained strong, however, driven by a surge in visitors from mainland China. In response to the expected contraction of the economy in 2002, the government has announced a stimulative income tax cut and public works program that will push the budget into deficit. China already has extended support by easing restrictions on travel to Macau and is proposing a China-Hong Kong-Macau free trade area. China's economic weight is increasingly felt, with the mainland now holding more than 50% of assets in the financial, real estate, and construction sectors. Mainlanders, however, have been excluded from bidding on the gambling industry licenses that Macau is offering to break up the territory's four-decade-old gambling monopoly. Gambling taxes account for up to 60% of revenue, and the government with Beijing's backing intends to revitalize the industry. | Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. While Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s and during the recent financial problems in East Asia, the economy has expanded at a solid 4% annual growth pace in the last five years. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is a key factor behind the economy's resilience to the regional crisis and its stronger than expected growth rate. Growth in 2001 will depend on key international commodity prices, the extent of recovery in nearby Asian economies, and the strength of US and European markets. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.476 billion kWh (2000) | 178.306 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 175 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) | 191.727 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
89.93% hydro: 8.36% nuclear: 0% other: 1.71% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
lowest point:
Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other | Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% |
Exchange rates | patacas per US dollar - 8.033 (January 2002), 8.034 (2001), 8.026 (2000), 7.992 (1999), 7.979 (1998), 7.975 (1997); note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President of China JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993)
head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of all five government secretaries, three legislators, and two businessmen elections: chief executive chosen by a 200-member selection committee for up to two five-year terms |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Rev. Peter HOLLINGSWORTH (since 29 June 2001) head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet selected from among the members of Federal Parliament by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general for a three-year term note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party |
Exports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2000) | $69 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | clothing, textiles, cement, electronics, cameras | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment |
Exports - partners | US 48%, EU 28%, China 10%, Hong Kong 7% (2000) | Japan 19%, EU 14%, ASEAN 12%, US 9%, South Korea, NZ, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | 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 | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $445.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 26% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 4.7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 10 N, 113 33 E | 27 00 S, 133 00 E |
Geography - note | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland | world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer |
Highways | total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
total:
913,000 km paved: 353,331 km (including 1,363 km of expressways) unpaved: 559,669 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | - | Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate |
Imports | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2000) | $77 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | clothing, textiles, yarn, minerals, electrical machinery, fuel, livestock | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | China 41%, Hong Kong 15%, EU 10%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 6% (2000) | EU 24%, US 22%, Japan 14%, ASEAN 13% (1999) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel |
Infant mortality rate | 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 4.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -2% (2001 est.) | 1.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | ANZUS, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 264 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 21,070 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) |
Labor force | 218,000 (2001) | 9.5 million (December 1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 54% (2000 est.) | services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 54% forests and woodland: 19% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) | English, native languages |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system | based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (27 seats; 10 elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by political bloc - Entertainment Industry 3, pro-democracy 2, pro-Beijing Labor Union 2, pro-Beijing Neighborhood Association 2, pro-business 1 |
bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and two from each of the two territories; one-half of the members elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (148 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve three-year terms; no state can have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held by October 2001); House of Representatives - last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held by October 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 35, Australian Labor Party 29, Australian Democratic Party 9, Green Party 1, One Nation Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 80, Australian Labor Party 67, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.78 years
male: 78.97 years female: 84.73 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
79.87 years male: 77.02 years female: 82.87 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90% male: 93% female: 86% (1981 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | not specified | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total:
54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,558,371 GRT/2,038,776 DWT ships by type: bulk 26, cargo 3, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there is a local police force | Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $6.9 billion (FY98/99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.9% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 128,005 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
4,990,107 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 70,508 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
4,303,966 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
138,971 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | 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 | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
noun:
Australian(s) adjective: Australian |
Natural hazards | typhoons | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts |
Natural resources | NEGL | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum |
Net migration rate | 9.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km |
Political parties and leaders | there are no formal political parties, however, there are civic associations that, for purposes of legislative voting, join together to form political blocs | Australian Democratic Party [Meg LEES]; Australian Labor Party [Kim BEAZLEY]; Green Party [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; National Party [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [Pauline HANSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Catholic Church [Domingos LAM, bishop]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO, managing director]; Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong, leader] | Australian Democratic Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group) |
Population | 461,833 (July 2002 est.) | 19,357,594 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.75% (2002 est.) | 0.99% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Macau | Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 160,000 (1997) | 25.5 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999) |
Religions | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) | Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 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 | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services
domestic: NA international: HF radiotelephone communication facility; access to international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and China; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment:
excellent domestic and international service domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 176,902 (November 2001) | 9.58 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 158,251 (November 2001) | 6.4 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) | 104 (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.77 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.5% (2001 est.) | 6.4% (2000) |
Waterways | none | 8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft) |