POLICY RESEARCH | Report suggests for non-resident workers to live elsewhere

Lau Pun Lap (center)

The coordinator of the Policy Research Office, Lau Pun Lap, has revealed that Macau could accommodate a total of 750,000 inhabitants by 2025, but suggested that measures must be taken to encourage non-resident workers to live outside of Macau. The office presented its report on Macau’s demographic policies at a press conference yesterday. “Macau currently has 180,000 non-resident workers, of which most come from mainland China. According to 2014 statistics, before borders started working around the clock, 60 percent of non-resident workers lived in Macau,” he recalled.
Changes to border regulations have encouraged more non-resident workers to live in Zhuhai and other neighboring regions. Lau added that, “with new border policies, more non-resident workers have decided to live in Zhuhai. In the future we might be able to reduce the number of non-resident workers living here to 50 or 40 percent,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
While presenting the report’s main findings, the office head said that they would be suggesting that the government promote accommodation for non-resident workers outside the region.
“In cooperation with gaming operators and larger enterprises, the government should work toward reducing the need for non-
resident workers to live here [in Macau], and encourage them to settle outside Macau,” it reads.
Mr Lau called it “inter-regional cooperation” and recalled that even residents might choose to live in neighboring regions, where apartment rents, food and other goods are considerably cheaper.
Research fellow Un Kin Chong went even further to suggest that gaming operators should be more responsible and provide accommodation to non-resident workers outside Macau.
He nevertheless recalled that the region still needs the help of foreign labor, particularly among SMEs and emerging industries. The Policy Research Office estimates that the local population will reach 750,000 by 2025. Mr Lau said that non-resident workers could make about 200,000 of the total by then. However, he said he could not confirm this figure since demographic changes will depend on policies and the city’s economic development.
The report also stressed the need for better use of the current human resources available, such as: affording residents more professional training opportunities; launching measures to encourage Macau talent living overseas to return and further advance their careers here; or even encouraging elderly people and more women to start working again.
The report provides suggestions on social security, health, housing, and education measures. It also suggests that the government needs to optimize and improve the city’s road networks, while planning a more effective public transportation system.

Population to reach 750,000 in 2025

The region’s total population will reach 750,000 in 2025, according to a report on Macau’s demographic policies drafted by the Policy Research Office.
The office’s coordinator, Lau Pun Lap, told a press conference yesterday that the annual average population growth rate between 2020 and 2025 will be 1.1 percent. Macau’s population will continue to increase but at a slower pace.
According to estimations, by 2020 the region’s population will reach 710,000 inhabitants, with an annual average growth rate of 1.9 percent.
The ageing population trend will remain, the report says. By 2025, average life expectancy is due to reach 84.6 years. The elderly will make up 16.3 percent of the total population.
Mr Lau said that Macau has the capacity to accommodate 750,000 inhabitants by 2025, considering that five new reclaimed land areas are now under development. In addition, he recalled that, with borders operating around the clock, a higher number of non-resident workers will choose to live in Zhuhai or other neighboring regions.
He estimated that, by 2025, Macau’s population density would reach 21,700 people per square kilometer.