PEOPLE
Macau's population is 94.3% 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; 76.4% of the University of Macau's 5,838 students are local and 23.6% from overseas.
Nationality: Noun--Macanese (sing. and pl.).
Population (1st quarter 2008): 543,000.
Population growth rate (1st quarter 2008): 4.3%.
Ethnic groups: Chinese 94.3%, Portuguese 0.6%, Portuguese & Chinese or Portuguese & non-Chinese 1%.
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--8.4%; construction--11.6%; wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants--24.3%; financial intermediation, real estate, and related business activities--9.6%; public administration, other community, social and personal services, including gaming--31.5%; transport, storage and communications--4.6%.
