PEOPLE
Macau's population is 95.7% Chinese, primarily Cantonese and some Hakka, both from nearby Guangdong Province. The remainder are of Portuguese or mixed Chinese-Portuguese ancestry. The official languages are Portuguese and Chinese (Cantonese). English is spoken in tourist areas. Macau has ten higher education institutions, including the University of Macau; 80.7% of the University of Macau's 5,562 students are local and 19.3% from overseas.
Nationality: Noun--Macanese (sing. and pl.).
Population (3rd quarter 2007): 531,400.
Population growth rate (3rd quarter 2007): 5.0%.
Ethnic groups: Chinese 95.7%, Portuguese 1.7%.
Religions: Buddhist 17%, Roman Catholic 7%, Christian 2%.
Languages: In 1992, the government gave the Chinese (Cantonese) language official status and the same legal force as Portuguese, the official language.
Education: Literacy--91.3%.
Work force: Manufacturing--7.6%; construction--13.4%; wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants--24.3%; financial intermediation, real estate, and related business activities--9.2%; public administration, other community, social and personal services, including gaming--30.7%; transport, storage and communications--5.4%.
