The Government of Macau, Special Administrative Region
Overview
Macau is China’s other Special Administrative Region, also governed under ‘One Country, Two Systems.’ Like Hong Kong it retains its own currency, immigration control, and separate legal tradition — in Macau’s case inherited from Portuguese rather than British administration — under its own Basic Law.
- Capital / seat of government: Macau (government offices are concentrated on the Macau Peninsula)
- Administrative regions: No formal administrative regions in the Western sense; historically divided into 7 parishes (freguesias) used mainly for civil-registry purposes. A separate local-government tier was abolished in 2001, and municipal-level functions are now handled directly by the Macau SAR government’s Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM).
- Government & legal system: Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China under ‘One Country, Two Systems’; its own Basic Law serves as its constitutional document until at least 2049. Executive-led government headed by the Chief Executive; retains a civil law legal system inherited from Portuguese administration, distinct from both mainland China’s civil law system and Hong Kong’s common law system. (government site)
- Head of government: Sam Hou-fai, Chief Executive (took office December 20, 2024, succeeding Ho Iat-seng). Like Hong Kong’s, Macau’s Chief Executive is selected by an Election Committee and formally appointed by China’s central government. (official page)
- Official language(s): Chinese (Cantonese in practice) and Portuguese (both official)
- Establishment / National Day: December 20 (Macau SAR Establishment Day, marking the 1999 transfer of sovereignty); China’s National Day, October 1, is also a public holiday in Macau
- Historical transition: Returned to Chinese sovereignty on December 20, 1999, ending over 400 years of Portuguese administration — the last European colonial territory in Asia to be handed over; not an independent state and has no separate head of state — sovereignty rests with the People’s Republic of China, represented by President Xi Jinping
- Other official holidays: Lunar New Year, Ching Ming Festival, Buddha’s Birthday, Labour Day (May 1), Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Chung Yeung Festival, plus some Portuguese-influenced observances such as All Souls’ Day and the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima
- Regional / international standing: Participates separately from mainland China in the WTO and APEC as ‘Macao, China’; not a UN member in its own right (represented internationally through the PRC’s seat)
- Visa / entry requirements: Macau operates its own immigration and visa policy, separate from mainland China, broadly similar in structure to Hong Kong’s — many nationalities receive visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry for short stays. (visa info)
- Currency: Macanese pataca (MOP) — a currency separate from mainland China’s renminbi and from the Hong Kong dollar (though HKD is widely accepted informally in Macau). Banknotes are issued by two banks, Banco Nacional Ultramarino and Bank of China (Macau); designs commonly depict Macau landmarks such as the Ruins of St. Paul’s and the Guia Lighthouse rather than portraits of individuals.
- Flag: Green field bearing a white, stylized lotus flower (Macau’s floral emblem) above a stylized image of the Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge and water, with five gold five-pointed stars in an arc above — the lotus represents Macau, the bridge and water represent its character as a port city, and the five stars echo China’s national flag, symbolizing Macau’s status as part of China.
