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 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:
presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

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); amended 2005, 2012 (2016)

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 7 years; note - indirect elections are limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" and an 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); election last held on 5-17 March 2013 (next to be held in March 2018);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 17 September 2017 (next to be held in 2021)
election results: percent of vote - UMG 10%, UPD 9.7%, ACUM 8.6%, NE 8.3%, UPP 7.2, ANMD 6.6%, NUDM 6.1%, ACDM 5.9%, APMD 5.8%, Civic Watch 5.6%, ABL 5.5%, ANPM 5.3%, other 15.4%; seats by political group - UMG 2, UPD 2, ABL 1, ACDM 1, ACUM 1, ANMD 1, ANPM 1, APMD 1, Civic Watch 1, NE 1, NUDM 1, UPP 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] Alliance for a Happy Home or ABL [WONG Kit-cheng] (an electoral list of UPP) Civic Watch or Civico [Agnes LAM Iok-fong] Macau-Guangdong Union or UMG [MAK Soi-kun] Macau Citizens' Development Association or ACDM [Becky SONG Pek-kei] (an electoral list of ACUM) New Democratic Macau Association or ANMD [AU Kam-san] New Hope or NE [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO] New Macau Association or AMN [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 AMN) Union for Development or UPD [Ella LEI Cheng-I] 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] Democratic Action [LEE Kin-yun] Macau New Chinese Youth Association (Associacao de Nova Juventude Chinesa de Macau) or ANJCM [LEONG Sin-man] Macau Workers' 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)