Country name:
conventional long form: Macau Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Macau
official long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese)
official short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese)
etymology: name is thought to derive from the A-Ma Temple - built in 1488 and dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of seafarers and fishermen - which is referred to locally as "Maa Gok" and which in Portuguese became "Macau"; the Chinese name Aomen means "inlet gates"
Dependency status:
special administrative region of the People's Republic of China
Government type:
limited democracy
Administrative divisions:
none (special administrative region of the People's Republic of China)
Independence:
none (special administrative region of China)
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
Constitution:
previous 1976 (Organic Statute of Macau, under Portuguese authority); latest adopted 31 March 1993, effective 20 December 1999 (Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China serves as Macau's constitution) (2015)
Legal system:
civil law system based on the Portuguese model
Citizenship:
see China
Suffrage:
18 years of age in direct elections for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; note - indirect elections are limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (973 were registered in the 2009 legislative elections) and a 400-member Election Committee for the Chief Executive drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, central government bodies, and elected Macau officials
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013)
head of government: Chief Executive Fernando CHUI Sai On (since 20 December 2009)
cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the chief executive
elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); chief executive chosen by a 400-member Election Committee for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 29 August 2014 (next to be held in 2019); note - the Legislative Assembly in August 2012 voted to expand the Election Committee to 400 from 300 seats for the 2014 election
election results: Fernando CHUI Sai On reelected chief executive; Election Committee vote count - 380 of 396
Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Legislative Council or Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (33 seats; 14 members directly elected by proportional representation vote, 12 indirectly elected by an electoral college of professional and commercial interest groups, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 15 September 2013 (next to be held in September 2017)
election results: percent of vote - ACUM 18.0%, UMG 11.1%, UPP 10.8%, NE 9.0%, NUDM 8.9%, UPD 8.2%, APMD 7.5%, ANMD 6.0%, APM 6.0%, other 14.5%; seats by political group - ACUM 3, UMG 2, UPP 2, NE 2, NUDM 1, UPD 1, APMD 1, ANMD 1, APM 1; 12 seats filled by professional and business groups; 7 members appointed by the chief executive
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Court of Final Appeal of Macau Special Administrative Region (consists of the court president and 2 associate justices)
judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the Macau chief executive upon the recommendation of an independent commission of judges, lawyers, and "eminent" persons; judge tenure NA
subordinate courts: Court of Second Instance; Court of First instance; Lower Court; Administrative Court
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Change or APM [Melinda CHAN Mei-yi]
Macau-Guangdong Union or UMG [MAK Soi-kun]
New Democratic Macau Association or ANMD (an electoral list of the New Macau Association)
New Hope or NE [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO]
New Macau Association or ANM [Sulu SOU Ka-hou]
New Union for Macau's Development or NUDM [Angela LEONG On-kei]
Prosperous Democratic Macau Association or APMD (an electoral list of the New Macau Association)
Union for Development or UPD [KWAN Tsui-hang]
Union for Promoting Progress or UPP [HO Ion-sang]
United Citizens Association of Macau or ACUM [CHAN Meng-kam]
note: there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Bar-Bending Workers' Association [WONG Wai-Man]
Civic Power [Agnes LAM lok-fong]
Democratic Action [LEE Kin-yun]
Macau New Chinese Youth Association [LEONG Sin-man]
Macau Worker's Union [HO Heng-kuok]
New Macau Association [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]
Workers' Self-Help Union [CHEONG Weng-fat]
International organization participation:
ICC (national committees), IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (Special Administrative Region of China)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US has no offices in Macau; US Consulate General in Hong Kong is accredited to Macau
Flag description:
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 the center of the arc and two smaller on either side; the lotus is the floral emblem of Macau, the three petals represent the peninsula and two islands that make up Macau; the five stars echo those on the flag of China
National symbol(s):
lotus blossom; national colors: green, white, yellow
National anthem:
note: as a Special Administrative Region of China, "Yiyongjun Jinxingqu" is the official anthem (see China)
NOTE: The information regarding Macau on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Macau Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Macau Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16