# Demographics of Macau

"none" is a legitimate description when the title is already adequate; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Demographic features of the population of Macau include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Macau's population is 95% Chinese ethnicity, primarily Cantonese and some Hakka, both from the nearby Guangdong Province. The majority of the remainder are of Portuguese or mixed Chinese-Portuguese ancestry. Some Japanese, including descendants of Japanese Catholics who were expelled by shōguns, also live in Macau.
The official languages are Portuguese and Chinese. The residents commonly (85.7%) speak Cantonese, Mandarin is spoken by 3.2% at home, about 40% are able to communicate in standard Mandarin. English and Portuguese are spoken as a first language by 1.5% and 0.6% respectively, while English is widely taught as a second language. The other popular topolect is Hokkien, spoken by a small percentage of the population. The creole Macanese language (Patuá or Macaista Chapado) is almost extinct.

## Population size and structure

    624,000 (2014 Qtr2 est.)

### Structure of the population

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020):
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| Total | 326 700 | 358 700 | 685 400 | 100 |
| 0–4 | 16 700 | 15 300 | 32 000 | 4.67 |
| 5–9 | 18 000 | 16 200 | 34 200 | 4.99 |
| 10–14 | 12 900 | 11 500 | 24 400 | 3.56 |
| 15–19 | 12 700 | 12 300 | 25 000 | 3.65 |
| 20–24 | 22 100 | 22 100 | 44 200 | 6.45 |
| 25–29 | 25 800 | 24 800 | 50 600 | 7.38 |
| 30–34 | 35 900 | 39 000 | 74 900 | 10.93 |
| 35–39 | 30 900 | 35 100 | 66 000 | 9.63 |
| 40–44 | 23 500 | 27 300 | 50 800 | 7.41 |
| 45–49 | 22 300 | 28 800 | 51 100 | 7.46 |
| 50–54 | 19 600 | 28 200 | 47 800 | 6.97 |
| 55–59 | 23 800 | 30 300 | 54 100 | 7.89 |
| 60–64 | 22 800 | 23 900 | 46 700 | 6.81 |
| 65–69 | 16 500 | 17 200 | 33 700 | 4.92 |
| 70–74 | 11 500 | 11 100 | 22 600 | 3.30 |
| 75–79 | 5 500 | 5 300 | 10 800 | 1.58 |
| 80–84 | 3 300 | 4 300 | 7 600 | 1.11 |
| 85+ | 2 900 | 6 000 | 8 900 | 1.30 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 0–14 | 47 600 | 43 000 | 90 600 | 13.22 |
| 15–64 | 239 400 | 271 800 | 511 200 | 74.58 |
| 65+ | 39 700 | 43 900 | 83 600 | 12.20 |

## Vital statistics

The following are data on vital statistics.
| | Average population | Live births | Deaths | Natural change | Crude birth rate (per 1000) | Crude death rate (per 1000) | Natural change (per 1000) | TFR |
| 1970 | 248,600 | 2,676 | 1,516 | 1,160 | 11.6 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 2.167 |
| 1971 | 246,200 | 2,637 | 1,543 | 1,094 | 10.9 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 1.979 |
| 1972 | 243,900 | 2,750 | 1,539 | 1,211 | 10.3 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 1.818 |
| 1973 | 241,700 | 2,686 | 1,410 | 1,276 | 10.0 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 1.679 |
| 1974 | 239,400 | 2,781 | 1,579 | 1,202 | 9.7 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 1.562 |
| 1975 | 237,000 | 2,583 | 1,398 | 1,185 | 9.7 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 1.478 |
| 1976 | 234,200 | 2,369 | 1,517 | 852 | 10.2 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 1.437 |
| 1977 | 231,700 | 2,532 | 1,424 | 1,108 | 11.0 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 1.445 |
| 1978 | 233,100 | 2,407 | 1,360 | 1,047 | 12.4 | 5.5 | 6.9 | 1.499 |
| 1979 | 237,300 | 3,019 | 1,504 | 1,515 | 14.1 | 5.6 | 8.5 | 1.591 |
| 1980 | 242,000 | 3,784 | 1,555 | 2,229 | 16.0 | 5.6 | 10.4 | 1.709 |
| 1981 | 247,600 | 4,207 | 1,465 | 2,742 | 18.0 | 5.6 | 12.4 | 1.835 |
| 1982 | 261,700 | 5,262 | 1,488 | 6,750 | 19.8 | 5.6 | 14.2 | 1.953 |
| 1983 | 276,900 | 6,168 | 1,514 | 4,654 | 21.3 | 5.6 | 15.8 | 2.046 |
| 1984 | 288,800 | 6,666 | 1,488 | 5,178 | 22.4 | 5.5 | 16.9 | 2.104 |
| 1985 | 290,600 | 7,560 | 1,466 | 6,094 | 22.9 | 5.3 | 17.6 | 2.121 |
| 1986 | 301,500 | 7,477 | 1,324 | 6,153 | 22.9 | 5.2 | 17.7 | 2.094 |
| 1987 | 312,200 | 7,565 | 1,321 | 6,244 | 22.4 | 5.0 | 17.3 | 2.031 |
| 1988 | 319,800 | 7,913 | 1,437 | 6,476 | 21.5 | 4.9 | 16.6 | 1.944 |
| 1989 | 330,400 | 7,568 | 1,516 | 6,052 | 20.3 | 4.7 | 15.6 | 1.838 |
| 1990 | 339,500 | 6,872 | 1,482 | 5,390 | 19.0 | 4.5 | 14.5 | 1.722 |
| 1991 | 363,800 | 6,832 | 1,335 | 5,497 | 17.6 | 4.4 | 13.2 | 1.605 |
| 1992 | 378,000 | 6,676 | 1,432 | 5,244 | 16.2 | 4.3 | 12.0 | 1.494 |
| 1993 | 390,000 | 6,267 | 1,531 | 4,736 | 14.9 | 4.2 | 10.8 | 1.394 |
| 1994 | 403,600 | 6,115 | 1,330 | 4,785 | 13.8 | 4.1 | 9.7 | 1.308 |
| 1995 | 415,000 | 5,876 | 1,351 | 4,525 | 12.8 | 4.0 | 8.8 | 1.236 |
| 1996 | 415,200 | 5,468 | 1,413 | 4,055 | 12.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 1.174 |
| 1997 | 419,400 | 5,031 | 1,293 | 3,738 | 11.1 | 3.9 | 7.2 | 1.116 |
| 1998 | 425,200 | 4,434 | 1,356 | 3,078 | 10.3 | 3.9 | 6.4 | 1.059 |
| 1999 | 429,600 | 4,148 | 1,374 | 2,774 | 9.6 | 3.9 | 5.7 | 1.002 |
| 2000 | 431,500 | 3,849 | 1,338 | 2,511 | 8.8 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 0.95 |
| 2001 | 436,300 | 3,241 | 1,327 | 1,914 | 8.2 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 0.818 |
| 2002 | 440,500 | 3,162 | 1,415 | 1,747 | 7.7 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 0.813 |
| 2003 | 446,700 | 3,212 | 1,474 | 1,738 | 7.5 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 0.837 |
| 2004 | 462,600 | 3,308 | 1,533 | 1,775 | 7.4 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 0.855 |
| 2005 | 484,300 | 3,671 | 1,615 | 2,056 | 7.5 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 0.912 |
| 2006 | 509,900 | 4,058 | 1,566 | 2,492 | 7.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 0.954 |
| 2007 | 531,800 | 4,537 | 1,545 | 2,992 | 8.2 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 1.008 |
| 2008 | 543,100 | 4,717 | 1,756 | 2,961 | 8.7 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 0.979 |
| 2009 | 533,300 | 4,764 | 1,644 | 3,120 | 9.3 | 3.7 | 5.6 | 1.004 |
| 2010 | 540,600 | 5,114 | 1,774 | 3,340 | 9.9 | 3.7 | 6.2 | 1.070 |
| 2011 | 557,400 | 5,852 | 1,845 | 4,007 | 10.4 | 3.7 | 6.8 | 1.150 |
| 2012 | 582,000 | 7,315 | 1,841 | 5,474 | 10.9 | 3.7 | 7.3 | 1.357 |
| 2013 | 607,500 | 6,571 | 1,920 | 4,651 | 11.4 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 1.150 |
| 2014 | 636,200 | 7,360 | 1,939 | 5,421 | 11.7 | 3.7 | 8.0 | 1.224 |
| 2015 | 646,800 | 7,055 | 2,002 | 5,053 | 12.0 | 3.8 | 8.2 | 1.142 |
| 2016 | 644,900 | 7,146 | 2,238 | 4,908 | 12.1 | 3.8 | 8.3 | 1.138 |
| 2017 | 653,100 | 6,529 | 2,120 | 4,409 | 10.0 | 3.2 | 6.8 | 1.021 |
| 2018 | 667,400 | 5,925 | 2,069 | 3,856 | 9.0 | 3.1 | 5.9 | 0.915 |
| 2019 | 679,600 | 5,979 | 2,282 | 3,697 | 8.9 | 3.4 | 5.5 | 0.899 |
| 2020 | 683,100 | 5,545 | 2,230 | 3,315 | 8.1 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 0.841 |
| 2021 | 683,200 | 5,026 | 2,320 | 2,706 | 7.4 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 0.756 |
| 2022 | 672,800 | 4,344 | 3,004 | 1,340 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 0.680 |
| 2023 | 683,700 | 3,712 | 2,981 | 731 | 5.5 | 4.4 | 1.1 | 0.586 |
| 2024 | 688,300 | 3,607 | 2,477 | 1,130 | 5.2 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 0.582 |

### Current vital statistics

| Period | Live births | Deaths | Natural increase |
| January – September 2023 | 2,751 | 2,347 | +404 |
| January – September 2024 | 2,819 | 1,847 | +972 |
| Difference | +68 (+2.47%) | -500 (−21.3%) | +568 |

### Life expectancy at birth

Macao is the territory with the world's second highest life expectancy behind Hong Kong.
| Period | Life expectancy in Years | Period | Life expectancy in Years |
| 1950–1955 | 61.0 | 1985–1990 | 76.6 |
| 1955–1960 | 63.6 | 1990–1995 | 78.1 |
| 1960–1965 | 66.0 | 1995–2000 | 79.8 |
| 1965–1970 | 68.1 | 2000–2005 | 81.0 |
| 1970–1975 | 70.7 | 2005–2010 | 82.1 |
| 1975–1980 | 73.1 | 2010–2015 | 83.3 |
| 1980–1985 | 74.8 | | |
Source: UN World Population Prospects

## Ethnic groups

The following are information on ethnicity and nationalities of residents based on data from the Statistics and Census Service.
Population of Macau according to ethnic group 1991–2021 :
| Ethnic group | 1991 census | 1991 census | 2001 census | 2001 census | 2011 census | 2011 census | 2021 census | 2021 census |
| Ethnic group | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Chinese | 338,191 | 95.1 | 416,353 | 95.7 | 510,383 | 92.4 | 609,863 | 89.4 |
| Chinese & Portuguese | 4,477 | 1.3 | 4,254 | 1.0 | 4,019 | 0.7 | 6,668 | 1.0 |
| Portuguese | 4,221 | 1.2 | 2,810 | 0.6 | 3,485 | 0.6 | 5,162 | 0.8 |
| Chinese & non-Portuguese | | | 1,771 | 0.4 | 1,601 | 0.3 | 1,498 | 0.2 |
| Others | 7,804 | 2.2 | 10,047 | 2.3 | 33,015 | 6.0 | 57,688 | 8.5 |
| Portuguese & others | | | 709 | 0.2 | 602 | 0.1 | 1,191 | 0.2 |
| Total | 355,693 | 355,693 | 435,235 | 435,235 | 552,503 | 552,503 | 682,070 | 682,070 |

### Place of birth

Population of Macau according to place of birth 1981-2021 :
| Place of birth | 1981 census | 1981 census | 1991 census | 1991 census | 2001 census | 2001 census | 2011 census | 2011 census | 2021 census | 2021 census |
| Place of birth | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Macau | 96,117 | 39.8 | 142,697 | 40.1 | 191,139 | 43.9 | 226,127 | 40.9 | 281,381 | 41.3 |
| Mainland China | 118,177 | 48.9 | 179,028 | 50.3 | 206,384 | 47.4 | 255,186 | 46.2 | 298,887 | 43.8 |
| Hong Kong | 13,118 | 5.4 | 12,192 | 3.4 | 14,436 | 3.3 | 19,355 | 3.5 | 22,199 | 3.3 |
| Portugal | 1,037 | 0.4 | 3,625 | 1.0 | 1,616 | 0.4 | 1,835 | 0.3 | 2,213 | 0.3 |
| Philippines | | | 1,965 | 0.6 | 5,311 | 1.2 | 14,544 | 2.6 | 32,900 | 4.8 |
| Others | 13,280 | 5.5 | 16,186 | 4.6 | 16,349 | 3.8 | 35,456 | 6.4 | 44,490 | 6.5 |
| Total | 241,729 | 241,729 | 355,693 | 355,693 | 435,235 | 435,235 | 552,503 | 552,503 | 682,070 | 682,070 |
Immigration is an essential component of the population. Results of the 2011 Population Census indicated that 326,376 (59.1% of the total population) were born outside Macau, an increase of 3.0 percentage points over the last ten years. Analysed by place of birth, 255,186 (46.2%) were born in Mainland China, down by 1.2 percentage points from 2001. 226,127 (40.9%) were born in Macau, 19,355 (3.5%) in Hong Kong and 1,835 (0.3%) in Portugal. There were more persons born in other countries or territories as the number of non-resident workers increased. Among them, 14,544 were born in the Philippines, 7,199 in Vietnam and 6,269 in Indonesia, altogether taking up 5.1% of the total population. 1,942 were born in Europe other than Portugal, 2,252 in Americas, 959 in Africa and 672 in Oceania. Analysed by age group, 85.2% of the youth population (aged 0–14) were born in Macau, and 62.9% of those aged 35 and above were born in Mainland China.
As of 2011 35,578 people in Macau were originally from Fujian province in Mainland China, making up about 25% of the Mainland China-born people. The number of Fujianese in Macau increased after the 1999 handover.

### Nationality

Analysed by nationality, 509,788 (92.3% of the total population) were of Chinese nationality, down by 2.9 percentage points from the 2001 Census; meanwhile, only 0.9% was of Portuguese nationality, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points. These figures can be misleading, because more than a 100,000 people in Macau are holders of a Portuguese passport, making them in effect Portuguese citizens. Over the last ten years, diversity of the various components of the population is enhanced as economic development has drawn people to invest, work or study in Macau; consequently, 37,695 (6.8%) were of other nationalities, up by 4.0 percentage points, with 2.7% being Filipinos. Macau is a Chinese community and those of Chinese ethnicity totaled 510,383, an increase of 94,030 over the past ten years; however, its proportion to the total population decreased by 3.3 percentage points to 92.4%. Those of wholly or partly Portuguese ethnicity totaled 8,106, up slightly by 333 compared with 2001; its proportion to the total decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 1.5%.

## Religion

Religion in Macau :
| Religion | Religion | % | % |
| Shenism | Shenism | 30% | 30% |
| Buddhism, Taoism | Buddhism, Taoism | 10% | 10% |
| Christianity | Christianity | 5% | 5% |
| No affiliation | No affiliation | 50% | 50% |
| Others | Others | 10% | 10% |
    30% Shenism, 10% Buddhism or Taoism, 5% Christianity, 50% not declaring religious affiliation, 10% others (2009). Another survey conducted between 2005, 2007 and 2009 has found that 30% of the population follows folk faiths, 10% are adherents of Buddhism or Taoism, 5% are Christians, and the remaining part do not declare religious adherence.

## Languages

Portuguese and Chinese are official languages. The Chinese standard (Cantonese or Mandarin) is not specified in the law.
Population of Macau aged 3 and above according to usual language spoken at home :
| Language | 1991 census | 1991 census | 2001 census | 2001 census | 2011 census | 2011 census | 2021 census | 2021 census |
| Language | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Cantonese | 289,297 | 85.8 | 372,697 | 87.9 | 449,274 | 83.3 | 537,981 | 81.0 |
| Portuguese | 6,132 | 1.8 | 2,813 | 0.7 | 4,022 | 0.7 | 3,949 | 0.6 |
| Mandarin | 4,016 | 1.2 | 6,660 | 1.6 | 27,129 | 5.0 | 31,405 | 4.7 |
| English | 1,777 | 0.5 | 2,792 | 0.7 | 12,155 | 2.3 | 23,635 | 3.6 |
| Other Chinese Dialects | 32,217 | 9.6 | 32,125 | 7.6 | 30,590 | 5.7 | 36,032 | 5.4 |
| Tagalog | | | 3,450 | 0.8 | 9,415 | 1.7 | 19,154 | 2.9 |
| Others | 3,838 | 1.1 | 3,666 | 0.9 | 6,546 | 1.2 | 11,626 | 1.8 |
| Total | 337,277 | 337,277 | 424,203 | 424,203 | 539,131 | 539,131 | 663,782 | 663,782 |
Population of Macau aged 3 and above according to language spoken :
| Language | 2001 census | 2011 census | 2011 census | 2021 census | 2021 census |
| Language | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Cantonese | 94.4 | 485,061 | 90.0 | 572,402 | 86.2 |
| Portuguese | 3.0 | 13,148 | 2.4 | 15,137 | 2.3 |
| Mandarin | 26.7 | 223,180 | 41.4 | 298,807 | 45.0 |
| English | 13.5 | 113,803 | 21.1 | 150,359 | 22.7 |
| Other Chinese Dialects | 17.7 | 84,669 | 15.7 | 95,864 | 14.4 |
| Tagalog | | 13,821 | 2.6 | 20,879 | 3.1 |
| Others | 4.3 | 25,161 | 4.7 | 25,053 | 3.8 |
| Total | 424,203 | 539,131 | 539,131 | 663,782 | 663,782 |