Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the economy of the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) maintained steady growth in the first three quarters of 2026, with the preliminary figure for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanding by 2.9% year-on-year in real terms to MOP316.13 billion. The overall economic output corresponded to 89.8% of the level in the same period of 2019. Exports of services logged a year-on-year growth of 3.4% in the first three quarters, driven by rising visitor arrivals on account of government efforts to boost visitation and a succession of large-scale themed events. Meanwhile, gross fixed capital formation grew by 4.6% in the first three quarters owing to the orderly progress of various public and private construction projects, while private consumption expenditure increased by 2.8%. Collectively, all these factors contributed to the steady development of the local economy.
Analysed by quarter, the economy of the Macao SAR sustained positive growth in the third quarter. The preliminary GDP figure expanded by 0.1% year-on-year in real terms to MOP106.06 billion, and the overall economic output recovered to 91.3% of the total in the same quarter of 2019. Exports of gaming services decreased by 4.8% year-on-year as gross revenue from games of chance experienced a short-term adjustment due to external environmental factors. Nevertheless, exports of other tourism services increased by 6.6% year-on-year, attributable to a rise in visitor numbers amid the summer peak travel season and tourism promotion initiatives. Concurrently, gross fixed capital formation grew notably by 17.2%, spurred by the accelerated progress of public and private construction projects. This growth effectively offset the drop in exports of gaming services, reflecting the economic resilience of the Macao SAR with the capacity to withstand risks, and providing support for steady economic development in the third quarter.
As the Macao SAR’s integration with Hengqin continued to deepen, a gradual increase was observed in the number of investment projects undertaken by Macao-related agents (including public departments, enterprises and individuals) in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin (hereinafter referred to as the Cooperation Zone). In the third quarter of 2026, gross fixed capital formation of Macao-related agents in the Cooperation Zone totalled MOP540 million, marking a nominal year-on-year rise of 215.3%. When taking into account the gross fixed capital formation of Macao-related agents in the Cooperation Zone, GDP grew by 2.6% year-on-year in nominal terms to MOP106.60 billion.