<Li> ^ The UN does not calculate the HDI of Macau . The government of Macau calculates its own HDI . </Li> <P> Macau (Chinese: 澳門, Cantonese: (ōu. mǔːn), / məˈkaʊ / (listen); Portuguese: Macau), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the western side of the Pearl River estuary in East Asia . Along with Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and several other major cities in Guangdong, the territory forms a core part of the Pearl River Delta metropolitan region, the most populated area in the world . With a population of 650,900 in an area of 30.5 km (11.8 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world . </P> <P> Macau was formerly a colony of the Portuguese Empire, after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557 . Originally governing under Chinese authority and sovereignty, Portugal was given perpetual occupation rights for Macau in 1887 . Macau remained under Portuguese control until 1999, when it was returned to China . As a special administrative region, Macau maintains a separate political and economic system apart from mainland China . </P> <P> Macau is the gambling capital of the world . Its economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism, with the largest gaming revenue since 2006 . It has a very high Human Development Index and the fourth - highest life expectancy in the world . Macau is among the world's richest regions and its GDP per capita by purchasing power parity was higher than that of any country in the world . </P>

The former portuguese colony that is now a special administrative region of china is