Macao to embrace accelerated aging population

MACAO -- Macao's statistic department on Saturday published the detailed results of 2016 population by-census carried out in the special administrative region (SAR), showing an accelerated population growth coupled with continued population aging in recent five years.

The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) said the population of Macao totaled 650,834 in August 2016, up 17.8 percent from 552,503 in the 2011 Population Census, attributable to a surge in non-resident workers living in Macao and a rebound in birth rate.

The average annual growth rate of the Macao population between 2011 and 2016 reached 3.3 percent, the highest in the past 20 years. Local population, excluding non-resident workers and foreign students living in Macao, totaled 537,018, up by 10.7 percent compared with 2011.

The result also showed that the SAR population continued to age. The elderly population aged 65 and above increased substantially by 48.6 percent from five years ago to 59,383, accounting for 9.1 percent of the total population, up by 1.9 percentage points.

Moreover, the percentage share of elderly population to the youth population under 14 rose by 15.6 percentage points to 76.3 percent. On the other hand, population aged 55-64 took up 13.5 percent (87,583) of the total. The pace of population aging is expected to accelerate further in the next decade.

The by-census found that the female population outnumbered the male population. Females and males totaled 336,816 and 314,018 respectively, accounting for 51.8 percent and 48.2 percent of the total. The gender ratio was 93.2, corresponding to 93.2 males per 100 females. As regarding the local population, the gender ratio dropped from 92.7 five years ago to 90.2, and the surplus of females over males was more apparent.

The number of households totaled 188,723, an increase of 10.5 percent compared to five years ago. The average household size was 3.07 persons, a slight decrease from 3.08 persons in 2011. Analyzed by the household size, three-person households predominated, accounting for 24.5 percent of the total households, up by 1.3 percentage points from five years earlier. By contrast, the proportion of four-person households fell by 1.6 percentage points to 21.4 percent.

DSEC conducted the 2016 Population By-census in August 2016 to obtain the latest information on population changes. The preliminary results were released at the end of 2016.