The resident population of China's Macao Special Administrative Region was estimated at 513,427 by Dec. 31, 2006, representing an increase of 29,150 over 2005, or a year-on-year growth of 5.8 percent, according to official statistics issued Thursday.

The figures released by the government-run Statistics and Census Service (SCS) showed that among the resident population, 50.8 percent were female and 49.2 percent male.

The youth population (aged between 0 and 14) accounted for 14.7percent, the adult population (aged between 15 and 64) 78.3 percent and the elderly population (aged 65 and above) 7.0 percent, the figures showed.

The number of legal immigrants from the Chinese mainland stood at 2,800 in 2006, with 239 arriving in the fourth quarter. Among those arriving in 2006, 72.9 percent were female and 65.6 percent came from the neighboring Guangdong Province, according to the statistics.

In the fourth quarter of 2006, 358 illegal immigrants were repatriated, amounting to an annual total of 1,085 persons, which surged by 110.3 percent over 2005, the figures showed.

(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2007)