Macau Abbreviations

Macao is a special administrative region on a small peninsula in southern China, 65 km west of Hong Kong. The capital is Santa Nome de Deus de Macau. Macao has no capital and no cities in the traditional sense.

Macau is today, like Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region (SAR) in China according to the concept “One country, two systems”. Macau’s economy is largely based on gaming and casino operations, which generate about half of the revenue to the state budget. The monopoly that previously prevailed in the gaming industry has been removed and foreign companies can be licensed to operate. As more and more mainland Chinese travel to Macau, the tourism and gaming sector is expanding rapidly to transform Macau into Asia’s Las Vegas. 85 percent of Macau’s exports consist of textiles and shoes. Macau’s largest trading partners are China, the United States, Hong Kong and Japan.

Macao was founded as a Portuguese colony in 1557 and became an important trading center. However, it lost its status since the British established Hong Kong not far away. After the Portuguese Revolution in 1974, China and Portugal began to establish diplomatic relations and began negotiating Macao’s status. In 1979, Macao became a Chinese territory under Portuguese rule. After further negotiations, it was decided in 1987 that Macao would be handed over to China in 1999 when it became a special administrative area.

Reunification with China has taken place relatively painlessly, and issues concerning democracy and political freedoms and rights are not debated to the same extent in Macau as in the neighboring region of Hong Kong. In addition, the media supply in Macau is more limited than in Hong Kong.

WORLD HERITAGE

The following objects in Macao are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The year in which the item was added to the list is indicated in parentheses.

• Macao Historical Center (2005)

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Weather in Macao

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