Macau’s population rose to 687,000 at the end of the second quarter of this year, an increase of 600 quarter on quarter and an increase of 1.2 percent (+8,200) year-on-year, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.
The statement said that the increase was mainly due to a rise in the number of non-resident workers (NRWs), informally known as blue-card holders, living in Macau. Non-resident workers totalled 181,108 at the end of the second quarter, up by 0.9 percent (+1,639) quarter-on-quarter and 9.5 percent (+15,835) year-on-year.
Based on Macau’s land area of 33.3 square kilometres, its population density stood at 20,631 per square kilometre at the end of June, one of the world’s highest.
Women accounted of 53.5 percent of the population at the end of June.
In the first half year, a total of 1,709 live births were delivered, a drop of 198 year-on-year. Mortality dropped by 575 deaths year-on-year to 1,261. The top three underlying causes of death were neoplasms aka tumours (466), diseases of the circulatory system (301), and diseases of the respiratory system (218).
As regards population movement, the number of new arrivals from mainland China with one-way permits fell by 36 year-on-year to 1,571 in the first half year, while the number of individuals newly granted the right of abode increased by 87 to 471.
Thanks to large-scale land reclamation projects, Macau’s land area has risen by 39.9 percent since December 1999, when the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) was established by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). At the end of 1999, Macau’s land area amounted to 23.8 square kilometres, according to official statistics.
Since December 1999, when Macau’s population stood at 430,500, its population has risen by 59.6 percent, according to official demographics.
This file photo taken last month shows people crossing the Barrier Gate checkpoint. – Photo: William Chan
