Since Macau has little arable land and few natural resources, it depends on mainland China for most of its food, fresh water, and energy imports.

Although Macau was hit hard by the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis and the early 2000s recession, its economy grew approximately 13.1% annually on average between 2001 and 2006.

[20] In 2015, Macau's economy saw a sharp decrease (-26.4% year-on-year in Q2 2015) due to the reduced spending by visitors from Mainland China since the Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping.

[17] A rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors due to China's easing of travel restrictions, increased public works expenditures, and significant investment inflows associated with the liberalisation of Macau's gaming industry drove the five-year recovery.

The budget also returned to surplus after 2002 because of the surge in visitors from China and a hike in taxes on gambling profits, which generated about 70% of government revenue.

[23] In 1535, the Portuguese traders obtained by bribing the right to anchor ships in Macau harbours and engage in trading activities.

After China ceded Hong Kong to the British in 1842, Macau's position as a major regional trading center declined further still because larger ships were drawn to the deep water port of Victoria Harbour.

[24] Fishing re-emerged as a dominant economic activity in Macau as it lost its position as a regional trading center.

[23] However, the manufacturing sector has experienced a gradual decline since the early 1990s due to phasing out of the MFA quota system and the rising labour costs relative to mainland China and Southeast Asian countries.

Due to the double-digit economic growth in recent years, the unemployment rate dropped from the record high 6.8% in 2000 to 3.1% in Qtr 3, 2007.

The government responds by importing labour from other neighbouring regions, including mainland China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and India.

[31] Macau adopts the so-called currency board system under which the legal tender, pataca (MOP), is 100 percent backed by foreign exchange reserves, the Hong Kong dollar (HKD).

Moreover, the currency board, Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM), has a statutory obligation to issue and redeem pataca on demand against Hong Kong dollar at a fixed exchange rate and without limit.

Macau import partners are Mainland China (30.4%), Hong Kong (12%), France (10.4%), Switzerland (7.5%), Italy (7.5%), Japan (6.2%), and United States (6.1%).

In the second half of the 20th century, Macau's economy was diversified with the development of light industry, the influx of migrants from mainland China to serve as a labor force, and increased tourism.

Portugal's efforts to develop economic and cultural links between Macau and Brazil and Portuguese holdings in Africa, however, were not successful.

Direct access to the neighbouring Zhuhai Special Economic Zone facilitates trade with mainland China.

[37]: 22  For the Macau government, taxes derived from the table game of baccarat are the largest single source of public funds.

[25] The monopoly ended in 2001 when the gaming industry was liberalised and several casino operators from Las Vegas entered the market.

Due to the opening of the new hotel casinos and China's easing of travel restrictions, there has been a rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors.

[37]: 116 Macau's manufacturing industries emerged in the first few decades of the 20th century, which mainly consisted of junk building, factories for matches, firecrackers and incense.

Macau is an offshore financial centre, a tax haven, and a free port with no foreign exchange control regimes.

About two dozen newspapers from Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan and the Philippines are shipped to Macau every early morning.

Because the economy is so reliant on tourism and gambling for its well-being, if the flow of tourists slows, it could come as a shock to the small market.

The push for diversification came in the closing years of Portuguese administration, under Governor General Vasco Rocha Vieira, and has continued to the present, under Chief Executive Edmund Ho.

Initially Macau faced challenges from a weak economy and high unemployment rate but in 2002, gaming was legalized and increased the government revenue.

Due to the rapid economic growth driven by the gambling industry, foreign investments and tourism, the government is now able to provide more public services.

Economic growth also brings inequality, competition is getting higher as more foreigner and mainland workers are overtaking local poor in skills.

No such civil unrest has ever been record in Macau history before or after the handover but it caught real attention because the city had a GDP growth of 17% the year prior.