MACAU: Census data shows population is becoming older

MACAU, SAR  / Macau Daily Times / Census / December 30, 2011

By Vítor Quintã

With a big part of the population now aged between 55 and 64 years old
the number of elderly will increase fast in the next few years,
preliminary data from the 2011 census shows

In the last decade the Macau population has become older, less children are being born and the number of elderly will likely soar in the next few years, the preliminary results of the 2011 census show. 


According to data released yesterday, there are 65,900 children up to 14 years old in Macau, which accounts for just 11.9 percent of the population. This figure represents a huge decrease from 2001, when youth took up 21.6 percent.

Currently Macau has the second best demographic profile in the world, only behind Qatar, as the working-age population reached 446,600. Adults below 65 now account for 80.8 percent of the total, up from 71.1 percent a decade ago.

With locals living longer, as life expectancy rose to 82.7 years, the median age of the population topped 36 years, up from 33.3 years in the previous census, carried out in 2001.
The increase in the number of immigrants and non-resident workers was able to slightly cut the percentage of elderly to 7.2 percent of the total, at 40,000.

But the director of the Statistics and Census Bureau, Vanessa Kong Pek Fong, stressed that a big part of the population is now aged between 55 and 64 years old. As such, they will be classified as elderly as well in the next few years. “This is one of the most important issues we are facing now,” she said.

And Macau’s birth rate, even though it has picked up in the last few years, is still too low to balance the big number of people reaching retirement, the official warned.

Density champion

The reclamation works undertaken in the last decade were still unable to keep with the growing number of inhabitants, which grew by 26.9 percent to 552,500.

As a result Macau’s population density rose 10.3 percent to 18,600 people per square kilometre. The territory strengthened its position as the world’s most densely populated city’s, in front of Monaco.

But the figures are even more staggering in some northern Macau districts, namely in Areia Preta and Iao Hon (142,300 people per square kilometre), Red Market (133,700) and Lam Mau (129,100).

According to this data, the Areia Preta and Iao Han district has the highest population density in the world, overtaking Hong Kong’s Mong Kok, where density reached 130,000 people per square kilometre, according to Guinness World of Records.

Areia Preta and Iao Hon is also the area where most people live, 66,900, but downtown Taipa was the fastest growing district with 26,200 further residents taking its total to 55,400.
The census found 233,870 building units, of which an overwhelming majority (81.8 percent) are residential flats. A significant number, over 23,000, are still vacant but the percentage of empty apartments actually slumped heavily, from 24.4 to 9.9 percent.

Data also reveals that more people are renting a house, as only 70.4 percent of the inhabitants are homeowners, down by 6.1 points from the previous census. “Most young people cannot afford to buy a flat and non-resident workers always rent as well,” Kong said.

Copyright: Macau Times Publications Ltd. 

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MACAU: Stanley Ho, 87, believes in aggresssive old age, his health raises questions

. HONG KONG / Wall Street Journal Asia / August 7, 2009 By Jonathan Cheng The ailing health of Macau's 87-year-old gambling tycoon Stanley Ho raises questions about who will take over his casino empire and inherit his substantial fortune. It could also change the competitive landscape in the casino industry's most important growth market. Stanley Ho smiles during an interview at his office in Hong Kong. The Chinese calligraphy scrolls hanging behind Ho's desk express his belief in a vigorous old age. 2001 photo AP No single person holds greater sway over the Macau casino industry than Mr. Ho. While his four-decade monopoly on gambling in Macau ended in 2002 when foreign competitors were allowed in, his casinos hold the largest market share in the former Portuguese colony, with about a quarter of the city's gambling revenue. His views are closely watched by analysts, competitors and regulators. "Politically and socially, Stanley Ho's absence comes at a very difficult time, both for his own companies as well as for the whole Macau gambling industry, since he has long been the most influential figure in the business," says Carlos Lobo, a gaming analyst and former legal adviser to the Macau Gaming Commission. Macau tycoon Stanley Ho, daughter Pansy Ho (left) and wife Angela Leong (right) at a Hong Kong event in May. Reuters His condition was unclear Thursday, and Mr. Ho's office didn't reply to calls and emails. Several Hong Kong news outlets said Mr. Ho had undergone brain surgery to remove a blood clot. Janet Wong, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ho's office, on Tuesday confirmed that he had undergone surgery, without elaborating. The openly polygamous Mr. Ho has 17 children, which include two children -- Pansy, 45, and Lawrence, 32 -- who have each teamed up with foreign partners to open casinos in Macau. At the end of July, casinos affiliated with the Ho family controlled about 53% of gambling revenue in Macau, which totaled about US$14 billion last year, making it the world's largest casino market. [rc] More? Jonathan Cheng E-Mail: jonathan.cheng@wsj.com Copyright ©2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

MACAU: Lawmaker Urges Government To Review Emergency Services For Elderly

. MACAU, SAR China / Macau Daily Times / February 25, 2008: In response to criticisms of the 37 elderly deaths during the recent Chinese New Year holiday, lawmaker Leong Iok Wa passed an interpellation to the government inquiring as to the efficacy and sufficiency of elderly emergency services and advising that services for the elderly cater to the climate change. In the interpellation, Ms Leong said that the emergency services such as the safety bell may not be enough to ensure the safety of the elderly as they might not be able to achieve the latest information of what was happening in order to protect themselves. Even though the report of elderly deaths during the Lunar New Year may be perfectly adequate and the Health Bureau had already clarified that the true reasons for the deaths was not due to the snow-stricken weather, the incidence should still raise the attention of society on the emergency assistance services for the elderly, especially those living alone, she said. She also asked that the government co-operate with the community associations to establish a database for the elderly living alone in order to emulate the elderly catering service network and the emergency assistance services. Likewise, the interpellation indicated that the government and according bureaux did not provide enough flexible accommodation for the sudden severe climate, while most of the elderly catering services except for the elderly centre had all been closed during the Lunar New Year. She quoted the information from the Statistics and Census Bureau, saying that the number of elderly deaths during the winter was obviously higher than that of other months and that people who were over 60 years old, who went to the Conde S. Januario Hospital, were recorded at a higher record than in the same period last year. Ms Leong asked the government if the according bureaux had taken this incident as a reference in order to improve their emergency adjustment capabilities. Moreover, the interpellation also indicated that the Health Bureau may not be putting enough effort into other issues besides the pandemic disease prevention. In addition, she also asked what exact work was the Bureau doing and whether the government and according bureau should review the spontaneous disease notification system. © 2007 Macau Daily Times