By the end ofPortuguese rule,Macau was administratively divided into two municipalities:Macau andIlhas, and seven civil parishes (freguesias). Parishes were administrative subdivisions of the municipalities.
After the 1999transfer of sovereignty over Macau from Portugal to China, municipalities were formally abolished on 31 December 2001 by Law No. 17/2001.[1] Since the abolition of the municipalities, parishes are still officially recognized divisions but for symbolic reasons only, while some of the municipal services are now handled by theMunicipal Affairs Bureau.
Prior to the dissolution of the municipalities in 2001, the first five parishes[2] listed in the table below fell under theMunicipality of Macau while the remaining two fell under theMunicipality of Ilhas, totalling to seven parishes.[3] The parishes of Nossa Senhora do Carmo and São Francisco Xavier are coterminous with the natural borders of the islands ofTaipa andColoane, respectively.
| Parish / Area | Chinese | Area (km2)[4] |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Sé | 大堂區 | 3.4 |
| São Lourenço | 風順堂區 | 1.0 |
| Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Taipa) | 嘉模堂區 | 7.9 |
| São Francisco Xavier (Coloane) | 聖方濟各堂區 | 7.6 |
| Other area | ||
| Cotai | 路氹 | 6.1 |
| 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 theHong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge)[5] | 港珠澳大橋珠澳口岸 | 0.7 |
| Novos Aterros Urbanos de Macau Zone C | 新城C區 | 0.3 |
| Universidade de Macau (Ilha de Montanha (Hengqin) campus) | 澳門大學 (橫琴校區) | 1.0 |
| Total land area | 34.3 | |
| Territorial waters[6] | 85 | |
| Total Macau SAR | 119.3 | |
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 theMacau Peninsula. Its seat was also known asCidade 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 ofTaipa andColoane. |
| Parishes |
|  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other zones | ||||||
| Defunct subdivisions | ||||||
| Defunct territories | ||||||
Note: The civil parishes are purely symbolic. There are currently no political administrative subdivisions in Macau, and instead, theMunicipal Affairs Bureau handles some of the functions formerly handled by the abolished municipalities, the former had replaced the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau that was formed in 2002. | ||||||
