Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the total population of Macao (683,700) at end-2023 increased by 1.6% (10,900) year-on-year, mainly due to a rise (7,500) in the number of non-resident workers living in Macao. Female population accounted for 53.4% of the total population. Analysed by age group, the proportion of youth (aged 0-14) dropped by 0.9 percentage points to 13.2%, whereas that of elderly (aged 65 and above) grew by 0.7 percentage points to 14.0%. The elderly population exceeded the youth population for the first time. Correspondingly, the ageing ratio climbed to 106.1%.

Local population (i.e. total population less non-resident workers and non-local students living in Macao) totalled 571,200 at end-2023, up slightly by 0.1% year-on-year. The elderly dependency ratio for the local population rose by 1.7 percentage points to 24.8%, equivalent to about 4 adults supporting 1 elderly. In addition, there were 204,400 households in Macao, an increase of 700.

Live births decreased by 632 year-on-year to 3,712 in 2023, and the birth rate fell to 5.5‰ (5.5 per thousand). Mortality dropped by 23 year-on-year to 2,981, with 58.1% being males; the mortality rate was 4.4‰ (4.4 per thousand), same as in 2022. Analysed by underlying cause of death, Malignant neoplasms (873) accounted for the majority at 29.3%, followed by Pneumonia (356) and Heart diseases (333), at 11.9% and 11.2% respectively.

As regards population movement, number of new arrivals from mainland China with one-way permit grew by 1,113 year-on-year to 3,416 in 2023; females comprised 67.2% of the total. Meanwhile, number of individuals newly granted right of abode increased by 321 to 878, with most from Hong Kong (362).

Marriage registrations totalled 3,168 in 2023, up by 441 year-on-year; the marriage rate increased by 0.7 per thousand points to 4.7‰ (4.7 per thousand). The median age at first marriage for men was 31.2 and 29.5 for women, both up by 0.3 year. Number of divorce cases grew by 193 to 1,299, and the divorce rate rose by 0.3 per thousand points to 1.9‰ (1.9 per thousand).

Analysed by quarter, live births (961) went up by 117 quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2023. Mortality (594) climbed by 43 quarter-on-quarter; the top three underlying causes of death were Neoplasms (221), Diseases of the circulatory system (131) and Diseases of the respiratory system (103). In the fourth quarter, number of new arrivals from mainland China with one-way permit (977) rose by 145 quarter-on-quarter, while number of individuals newly granted right of abode (218) went down by 58. Marriage registrations (841) showed an increase of 116 quarter-on-quarter.