Simple directory > Regional > Macao

Country : Macao Official name: Macao Special Administrative Region of China (Macao SAR) Head of State: State President Hu Jintao (elected 15 Mar 2003) Head of government: Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah (appointed Dec 1999; re-elected 29 Aug 2004) Area: 26 square km (Macao peninsula, Taipa and Coloane islands) Population: 451,000 (2004) Capital: Macao City Official language: Chinese and Portuguese Currency: Pataca (Pa) = 100 avos Exchange rate: Pa8.01 per US$ (Nov 2004) (the pataca is pegged to the Hong Kong dollar at Pa1.03) GDP per capita: US$18,500 (2003) GDP real growth: 9.00% (2003) Labour force: 214,000 (2003) Unemployment: 6.30% (2003) Inflation: -2.60% (2003) Balance of trade: -US$170.00 million (2003) Foreign debt: US$255.00 million (2003) Visitor numbers: 7.73 million (first half 2004)

Historical profile

1513 The first group of Portuguese arrived at the entrance to the Pearl River, the area that is now Macao.

1557 The colony of Macao was founded by the Portuguese with the apparent approval of the Chinese authorities.

1845 After years of Chinese rule, the Portuguese expelled the Chinese and announced Macao a free port. The territory enlarged to include the islands of Taipa and Coloane.

1860 The Portuguese introduced gambling licences to the territory.

1887 Macao's status was recognised by the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, signed between Portugal and China.

1939–45 Macao remained neutral during the Second World War and its economy prospered.

1976 The Portuguese government declared Macao a special territory and granted it a high degree of independence.

1987 The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macao was signed.

1999 China resumed control over the territory. Edmund Ho Hau Wah became the first chief executive, as Macao became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China.

2001 The Associacao de Novo Macau Democratio (ANMD) (New Democratic Macao Association), won two of the 10 directly-elected seats in the legislature.

2002 As part of the move to liberalise the gambling sector, Macao issued three casino licences to private operators. This broke the monopoly of self-made billionaire and the world's most successful casino operator, Stanley Ho Hung San.

2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) spread around the region early in the year.

2004 On 29 August, Edmund Ho was re-elected chief executive.

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