According to the information released by the Statistics and Census Service, resident population of Macao was estimated at 538,000 as at 31 December 2007, representing an increase of 25,000 over 2006, and an annual growth rate of 4.7%. Among the resident population, 50.6% were female and 49.4% were male. In terms of age distribution, the youth population (aged 0-14) accounted for 13.5%, the adult population (aged 15-64) and the elderly population (aged 65 and over) were 79.5% and 7.1% respectively.

In the fourth quarter of 2007, 1,352 live births and 388 mortality cases were recorded. For the whole year of 2007, total number of live births went up by 11.8% year-on-year to 4,537, the highest rise observed since the rebound in 2003 (the highest number of live births was in 1988, at 7,913). In 2007, the mortality cases dropped by 1.3% to 1,545 over 2006. The top three underlying causes of death were “Neoplasms”, “Diseases of the circulatory system” and “Diseases of the respiratory system”.

There were 627 cases of notifiable diseases reported in the fourth quarter of 2007, bringing the annual total to 2,309 cases, comprising mainly of “Varicella (chickenpox)” (1,398 cases), “Tuberculosis of lung” (360 cases) and “Enterovirus infection” (144 cases).

In addition, 506 cases of marriage were registered in the fourth quarter of 2007, while the annual total decreased by 2.5% over 2006 to 2,047 cases. In 2007, the median age for the first marriage was 26.2 for female and 28.5 for male.

Total number of legal immigrants from Mainland China was 2,221 in 2007, with 596 entering in the fourth quarter. Among those arriving in 2007, 66.8% were female and 68.2% came from Guangdong Province.

Meanwhile, 367 illegal immigrants were repatriated in the fourth quarter, while the annual total surged by 45.2% over 2006 to 1,575.

The year-end balance of the non-resident workers in 2007 was 85,207, an increase of 20,534 from a year earlier; besides, the year-end balance of the persons with authorization to reside in Macao rose by 5,557 to 41,955.

Total number of households, excluding those in collective living quarters, was estimated at 176,000 in 2007, up by 3.2% from a year earlier.