Macau is located on the south China sea. It comprises the Macau peninsula and two islands called Taipa and Coloane which are located in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong province. Two bridges link Macau to the first island of Taipa which in turn is linked to the island of Coloane.

Macau was a Portuguese colony that returned to China on the 20th of December 1999 after a period of 442 years.

After the handover, Macau became a special adminstrative region of China, with it's own system of governmment.

POPULATION: 442,300

(95% Chinese, 3% Portuguese, 2% other nationalities)
AREA: 25.8 sq km
LANGUAGE: The official languages are Chinese and Portuguese. English is widely used in business and tourism.
RELIGION: Buddhism, Catholicism , Protestantism and others.

CLIMATE: Summer: 25-30C, Winter: 10-16C Spring and Autumn: 14-20C

CURRENCY: Pataca (MOP) The exchange rate is about MOP8 to US$1.
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Updated on November 1, 2003