Macau’s population totalled 683,700 at the end of last year, a year-on-year growth of 1.6 percent (+10,900), mainly due to a rise (+7,500) in the number of non-resident workers (NRWs) living here, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.
Females accounted for 53.4 percent of the total population. Analysed by age groups, the proportion of youth (aged up to 14) dropped by 0.9 percentage points to 13.2 percent, whereas that of the elderly (aged 65 and above) grew by 0.7 percentage points to 14.0 percent. The elderly population exceeded the youth population for the first time. Correspondingly, the ageing ratio climbed to 106.1 percent.
The local population, i.e., the total population less NRWs and non-local students living in Macau, totalled 571,200 at end of last year, up slightly by 0.1 percent year-on-year. The elderly dependency ratio for the local population rose by 1.7 percentage points to 24.8 percent, equivalent to about four adults supporting one elderly. In addition, there were 204,400 households in Macau, an increase of 700.
Live births decreased by 632 year-on-year to 3,712 in 2023, while the birth rate fell to 5.5‰.
Mortality dropped by 23 year-on-year to 2,981, some 58.1 percent of them males; the mortality rate was 4.4‰, same as in 2022. Analysed by underlying cause of death, malignant neoplasms (873) accounted for the majority at 29.3 percent, followed by pneumonia (356) and heart diseases (333), at 11.9 percent and 11.2 percent respectively.
As regards population movement, the number of new arrivals from mainland China with one-way permits grew by 1,113 year-on-year to 3,416 in 2023; females accounted for 67.2 percent of the total. Meanwhile, the number of individuals newly granted the right of abode increased by 321 to 878, most of them from Hong Kong (362).
Marriage registrations totalled 3,168 in 2023, up by 441 year-on-year; the marriage rate increased by 0.7 per thousand points to 4.7‰. The median age at first marriage for men was 31.2 and 29.5 for women, both up by 0.3 year. The number of divorce cases grew by 193 to 1,299, while the divorce rate rose by 0.3 per thousand points to 1.9‰.
Based on Macau’s land area of 33.3 square kilometres, the special administrative region’s population density stood at 20,531 per square kilometre at the end of last year, one of the world’s highest.
Pedestrians walk across Avenida do Infante D. Henrique in Nam Van on a green traffic light last night. – Photo: Yuki Lei
