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Macau
Special administrative region of China / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Macau[lower-alpha 5] or Macao[lower-alpha 6] is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. With a population of about 710,000 people[11] and a land area of 32.9 km2 (12.7 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world.
Macau 澳門 | |||||||
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Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Other official names
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![]() Location of Macau within China | |||||||
Sovereign state | China | ||||||
Portuguese lease | 1557 | ||||||
Treaty of Peking | 1 December 1887 | ||||||
Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration | 26 March 1987 | ||||||
Handover of Macau | 20 December 1999 | ||||||
Largest parish by population | Nossa Senhora de Fátima | ||||||
Official languages | |||||||
Ethnic groups (2016) | 88.4% Han Chinese 4.6% Filipino 2.4% Vietnamese 1.7% Portuguese 2.8% other[3] | ||||||
Demonym(s) | Macau[lower-alpha 3] | ||||||
Government | Devolved executive-led government within a unitary one-party state[6] | ||||||
Ho Iat Seng | |||||||
André Cheong Weng Chon | |||||||
Kou Hoi In | |||||||
Sam Hou Fai | |||||||
Legislature | Legislative Assembly | ||||||
National representation | |||||||
12 deputies | |||||||
29 delegates[7] | |||||||
Area | |||||||
• Total | 115.3 km2 (44.5 sq mi) | ||||||
• Water (%) | 73.7 | ||||||
Highest elevation | 172.4 m (565.6 ft) | ||||||
Population | |||||||
• 2024 estimate | 712,651 | ||||||
• Density | 20,300/km2 (52,576.8/sq mi) (1st) | ||||||
GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate | ||||||
• Total | ![]() | ||||||
• Per capita | ![]() | ||||||
GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate | ||||||
• Total | ![]() | ||||||
• Per capita | ![]() | ||||||
Gini (2018) | 36.0[9] medium | ||||||
HDI (2022) | ![]() very high · 24th | ||||||
Currency | Macanese pataca (MOP) | ||||||
Time zone | UTC+08:00 (Macau Standard Time) | ||||||
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy yyyy年mm月dd日 | ||||||
Mains electricity | 220 V–50 Hz | ||||||
Driving side | left | ||||||
Calling code | +853 | ||||||
ISO 3166 code | |||||||
Internet TLD | |||||||
Licence plate prefixes | None for local vehicles, 粤Z for cross-boundary vehicles |
Formerly a Portuguese colony, the territory of Portuguese Macau was first leased to Portugal by the Ming dynasty as a trading post in 1557. Portugal paid an annual rent and administered the territory under Chinese sovereignty until 1887. Portugal later gained perpetual colonial rights in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until the 1999 handover to China. Macau is a special administrative region of China, which maintains separate governing and economic systems from those of mainland China under the principle of "one country, two systems".[12] The unique blend of Portuguese and Chinese architecture in the city's historic centre has resulted in its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005.[13]
Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands,[14] Macau, often referred to as the "Las Vegas of the East", since the late 20th century has become a major resort city and a top destination for gambling tourism. Its gambling industry is seven times larger than that of Las Vegas.[15] The city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, US$43,770 in 2021,[16] and its GDP per capita by purchasing power parity is one of the highest in the world.[17][18]
It has a very high Human Development Index of 0.925, as calculated by the Government of Macau,[10] and the fourth-highest life expectancy in the world.[19] The territory is highly urbanised, holding the status of the most densely populated territory on Earth; two-thirds of the total land area is built on land reclaimed from the sea.[20]