Macau (2002) | Nauru (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
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: 36.9% (male 2,507/female 2,391)
15-64 years: 61.2% (male 4,004/female 4,123) 65 years and over: 2% (male 139/female 123) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, vegetables | coconuts |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 1 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 25.4 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear, since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and its phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium. Nauru was occupied by Australian forces in World War I and subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved its independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 12.19 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 24.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.15 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $166 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
Capital | - | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 41 km | 30 km |
Constitution | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
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: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru local long form: Republic of Nauru local short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | pataca (MOP) | - |
Death rate | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (1998) | $33.3 million (2002) |
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 | the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | chief of mission: Ambassador Vinci Niel CLODUMAR
chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 937-0074 FAX: [1] (212) 937-0079 consulate(s): Agana (Guam) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $20 million mostly from Australia |
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. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, now significantly depleted. An Australian company in 2005 entered into an agreement intended to exploit remaining supplies. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income were invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. In 2005, the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continued to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.476 billion kWh (2000) | 21.39 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 175 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) | 23 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
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 - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) |
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: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 22 June 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 22 June 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president |
Exports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2000) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | clothing, textiles, cement, electronics, cameras | phosphates |
Exports - partners | US 48%, EU 28%, China 10%, Hong Kong 7% (2000) | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2005) |
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 a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 22 10 N, 113 33 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Highways | total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2000) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | clothing, textiles, yarn, minerals, electrical machinery, fuel, livestock | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | China 41%, Hong Kong 15%, EU 10%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 6% (2000) | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2005) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 9.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -2% (2001 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 218,000 (2001) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 54% (2000 est.) | note: 0.1% employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British 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 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held not later than 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 note: the president dissolved parliament on 30 September 2004 and set new elections for 23 October 2004 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.78 years
male: 78.97 years female: 84.73 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 63.08 years
male: 59.5 years female: 66.84 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90% male: 93% female: 86% (1981 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | not specified | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there is a local police force | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 128,005 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 70,508 (2002 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 | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | typhoons | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | NEGL | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | 9.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
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 | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party |
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] | NA |
Population | 461,833 (July 2002 est.) | 13,287 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.75% (2002 est.) | 1.81% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Macau | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 160,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
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: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 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 | 20 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: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 176,902 (November 2001) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 158,251 (November 2001) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.5% (2001 est.) | 90% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |