Distillers Macao
A one-page guide to Macao for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- None (special administrative region of China; Macau Peninsula and islands)
- Official languages
- Chinese, Portuguese
- Currency
- Macanese pataca (MOP)
- Time zone
- UTC+8 (no daylight saving)
- Area
- 119 km²
People
- Population
- 712,651 (2024)
- Population growth
- -0.2% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 100%
- Aged under 15
- 13.7%
- Aged 65 and over
- 15.1%
- Life expectancy
- 83.3 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$52.1 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$74,465 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 4.7% (2025)
- Inflation
- 0.3% (2025)
Climate
Humid subtropical. Summer (May to September) is hot, humid and monsoonal with most of the rain, and typhoons can disrupt port and airport operations; winter (December to February) is mild and dry.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 (private drinking is not regulated)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 3.36 litres of pure alcohol (2024)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Wikipedia - Legal drinking age; Wikipedia - Macau; Financial Services Bureau, Macao; EntryBrief: Macau customs allowances (secondary; cites Macao Customs Service); US Commercial Service: import tariffs Hong Kong and Macau; HKTDC Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair; Vinexpo Asia, Hong Kong; ProWine Shanghai. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.