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By the end of Portuguese rule, Macau was administratively divided into two municipalities (Portuguese: concelhos) and seven civil parishes (freguesias). Parishes were administrative subdivisions of the municipalities. After the 1999 transfer of sovereignty over Macau from Portugal to China, parishes are still officially recognized divisions but for symbolic reasons only.

Parishes were formerly administrative divisions falling under the former two municipalities of Macau: Macau and Ilhas. Following the 1999 transfer of sovereignty, these municipalities were formally abolished on 31 December 2001 by Law No. 17/2001. While their administrative functions have since been removed, these parishes are still retained nominally. Since the abolition of the municipalities, some of the municipal services are now handled by the Municipal Affairs Bureau.

Parishes

Prior to the dissolution of the municipalities in 2001, the first five parishes listed in the table below fell under the Municipality of Macau while the remaining two fell under the Municipality of Ilhas, totalling to seven parishes.

The parishes of Nossa Senhora do Carmo and São Francisco Xavier are coterminous with the natural borders of the islands of Taipa and Coloane, respectively.

Former municipalities

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 the Macau Peninsula. Its seat was also known as Cidade 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 of Taipa and Coloane.

See also

• Geography of Macau

References

1. Situação Geográfica de Macau dscc.gov.mo
2. "Area of parishes". Cartography and Cadastre Bureau. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
3. Zona de Administração de Macau na Ilha Fronteiriça Artificial da Ponte Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau sob jurisdição da RAEM

v t e Parishes of Macau
Parishes	Macau Peninsula Santo António São Lázaro São Lourenço Sé Nossa Senhora de Fátima Islands District Nossa Senhora do Carmo São Francisco Xavier
Other zones	Zona do Aterro de Cotai Macau New Urban Zone University of Macau Ilha de Montanha
Defunct subdivisions	Municipality of Macau Municipality of das Ilhas
Defunct territories	Lapa, Dom João, and Montanha
Note: The civil parishes are purely symbolic. There are currently no political administrative subdivisions in Macau, and instead, the Municipal 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.

v t e List of prefecture-level divisions and list of county-level divisions of China
Autonomous regions	Guangxi Inner Mongolia Ningxia Tibet Xinjiang
Direct-administered municipalities	Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin
Provinces	Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang
Special administrative regions	Hong Kong Macau
See also: Administrative divisions of Taiwan

• Freguesias of Macau
• Geography of Macau
• Municipalities of Macau
• Populated places in Macau