Municipalities and parishes of Macau

By the end of Portuguese rule, Macau was administratively divided into two municipalities (Portuguese: concelhos) and seven civil parishes (freguesias). Parishes were administrative subdivisions of the municipalities. After the 1999 transfer of sovereignty over Macau from Portugal to China, parishes are still officially recognized divisions but for symbolic reasons only.

Civil parishes of Macau (in English)
Civil parishes of Macau (in Chinese)

Parishes were formerly administrative divisions falling under the former two municipalities of Macau: Macau and Ilhas. Following the 1999 transfer of sovereignty, these municipalities were formally abolished on 31 December 2001 by Law No. 17/2001. While their administrative functions have since been removed, these parishes are still retained nominally. Since the abolition of the municipalities, some of the municipal services are now handled by the Municipal Affairs Bureau.

Parishes

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Prior to the dissolution of the municipalities in 2001, the first five parishes listed in the table below fell under the Municipality of Macau while the remaining two fell under the Municipality of Ilhas, totalling to seven parishes.[1]

Parish / Area Chinese Area
(km2)[2]
Parish
Nossa Senhora de Fátima 花地瑪堂區 3.2
Santo António 花王堂區 1.1
São Lázaro 望德堂區 0.6
São Lourenço 風順堂區 1.0
(including Novos Aterros Urbanos de Macau Zona B) 大堂區 (包括新城B區) 3.4
Nossa Senhora do Carmo (including Novos Aterros Urbanos de Macau Zona E) 嘉模堂區 (包括新城E區) 7.9
São Francisco Xavier 聖方濟各堂區 7.6
Other area
Zona do Aterro de Cotai 路氹填海區 6.0
Universidade de Macau (Ilha de Montanha (Hengqin) campus) 澳門大學 (橫琴校區) 1.0
Novos Aterros Urbanos de Macau Zone A 新城A區 1.4
Zona de Administração de Macau na Ilha Fronteiriça Artificial da Ponte Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau
(the southern part of the reclaimed island at the western end of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge)[3]
港珠澳大橋珠澳口岸 0.7

The parishes of Nossa Senhora do Carmo and São Francisco Xavier are coterminous with the natural borders of the islands of Taipa and Coloane, respectively.

Former municipalities

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Each municipality was run by a municipal chamber (câmara municipal), with a supervising municipal assembly (assembleia municipal).

  Municipality of Macau
Concelho de Macau
澳門市
Coterminous with the Macau Peninsula.
Its seat was also known as Cidade do (Santo) Nome de Deus de Macau (= City of the (Holy) Name of God of Macau, full motto: Cidade do (Santo) Nome de Deus de Macau, Não Há Outra Mais Leal, lit. City of the (Holy) Name of God of Macau, None Is More Loyal)
  Municipality of Ilhas
Concelho das Ilhas
海島市
Coterminous with the islands of Taipa and Coloane.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Situação Geográfica de Macau dscc.gov.mo
  2. ^ "Area of parishes". Cartography and Cadastre Bureau. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  3. ^ Zona de Administração de Macau na Ilha Fronteiriça Artificial da Ponte Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau sob jurisdição da RAEM