Map of Taiwan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan, however it reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government that over five decades has gradually democratized and incorporated native Taiwanese within its structure. Throughout this period, the island has prospered as one of East Asia's economic tigers. The dominant political issue continues to be the relationship between Taiwan and Mainland China and the question of eventual reunification.


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Location: Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China

Geographic coordinates: 23 30 N, 121 00 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 35,980 km²
Land: 32,260 km²
Water: 3,720 km²
Note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,448 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August; cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year

Terrain: eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Yu Shan 3,997 m

Natural resources: small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos

Land use
Arable land: 24%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 5%
Forests and woodland: 55%
Other: 15%

Irrigated land: NA km²

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: earthquakes and typhoons

Geography


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Population: 21,699,776 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 0.95% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Taiwanese 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%

Languages: Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects

Religions: mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 23% (male 2,576,022; female 2,399,926)
15-64 years: 69% (male 7,630,512; female 7,363,155)
65 years and over: 8% (male 937,206; female 792,955) (July 1997 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.95% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 14.97 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 5.45 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.03 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; air pollution; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.18 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.04 years
Male: 73.81 years
Female: 80.52 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.77 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 86%
Male: 93%
Female: 79% (1980 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Taiwan
Local long form: none
Local short form: T'ai-wan

Government type: multiparty democratic regime headed by popularly elected president

Capital: Taipei

Administrative divisions: since in the past the authorities claimed to be the government of all China, the central administrative divisions include the provinces of Fu-chien (some 20 offshore islands of Fujian Province including Quemoy and Matsu) and Taiwan (the island of Taiwan and the Pescadores islands); note - the more commonly referenced administrative divisions are those of Taiwan Province - 16 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities* (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special municipalities** (chuan-shih, singular and plural); Chang-hua, Chia-i, Chia-i*, Chi-lung*, Hsin-chu, Hsin-chu*, Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung, Kao-hsiung**, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-chung*, T'ai-nan, T'ai-nan*, T'ai-pei, T'ai-pei**, T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin; the provincial capital is at Chung-hsing-hsin-ts'un
Note: Taiwan uses the Wade-Giles system for romanization

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday: National Day, 10 October (1911) (Anniversary of the Revolution)

Constitution: 1 January 1947, amended in 1992, presently undergoing revision

Legal system: based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President LI Teng-hui (succeeded to the presidency following the death of President CHIANG Ching-kuo 13 January 1988, elected by the National Assembly 21 March 1990, elected by popular vote in the first-ever direct elections for president 23 March 1996); Vice President LIEN Chan (since 20 May 1996); note - LIEN Chan serves as both vice president and premier
Head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) LIEN Chan (since 23 February 1993) and Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) HSU Li-teh (since 23 February 1993); note - LIEN Chan serves as both vice president and premier
Cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by the president
Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 23 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2000); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier
Election results: LI Teng-hui elected president; percent of vote - LI Teng-hui 54%, PENG Ming-min 21%, LIN Yang-kang 15%, and CHEN Li-an 10%

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Yuan (164 seats - 128 elected by popular vote, 36 indirectly elected on the basis of proportional representation; members serve three-year terms; note - national conference agreed to change the term to four years, pending ratification by the National Assembly) and unicameral National Assembly (334 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 2 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1998); National Assembly - last held 23 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2000)
Election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - KMT 46%, DPP 33%, CNP 13%, independents 8%; seats by party - KMT 85, DPP 54, CNP 21, independents 4; note - since the election, there has been a change in the distribution of seats, the new distribution is as follows - KMT 83, DPP 54, CNP 21, independents 6; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - KMT 55%, DPP 30%, CNP 14%, other 1%; seats by party - KMT 183, DPP 99, CNP 46, other 6

Judicial branch: Judicial Yuan, justices appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, IOC, WCL, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through a private instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12 other US cities
From the us: none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of Taiwan are maintained through a private institution, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which has offices in Taipei at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, telephone [886] (2) 709-2000, FAX [886] (2) 702-7,675, and in Kao-hsiung at #2 Chung Cheng 3d Road, telephone [886] (7) 224-0154 through 0157, FAX [886] (7) 223-8,237, and the American Trade Center at Room 3,207 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei 10,548, telephone [886] (2) 720-1550, FAX [886] 757-7,162

Flag description: red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with considerable guidance of investment and foreign trade by government officials and partial government ownership of some large banks and industrial firms. Real growth in GDP has averaged about 9% a year during the past three decades. Export growth has been even faster and has provided the impetus for industrialization. Inflation and unemployment are low. Agriculture contributes less than 4% to GDP, down from 35% in 1952. Traditional labor-intensive industries are steadily being moved off-shore and replaced with more capital- and technology-intensive industries. Taiwan has become a major investor in China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The tightening of labor markets has led to an influx of foreign workers, both legal and illegal.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5.7% (1996)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $14,700 (1996 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.3%
Industry: 35.7%
Services: 61% (1996)

Agriculture products: rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish catch increasing, reached 1.4 million metric tons in 1988

Industries: electronics, textiles, chemicals, clothing, food processing, plywood, sugar milling, cement, shipbuilding, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate: 4.1% (1996)

Labor force
Total: 9.31 million
By occupation services: 52%
By occupation industry: 38%
By occupation agriculture: 10% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2.6% (1996)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $57.6 billion
Expenditures: $79.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1996 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports
Total value: $116 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
Commodities: machinery and electrical equipment 46.3%, textile products 13.5%, basic metals and articles 8.8%, chemicals 6.7% (1996 est.)
Partners: US 27.6%, Hong Kong 21.7%, EU countries 15.2%, Japan 10.5% (1994 est.)

Imports
Total value: $102.4 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
Commodities: machinery and electrical equipment 35.5%, chemicals 10.9%, basic metals and articles 10.3%, minerals 9.2% (1996 est.)
Partners: Japan 30.1%, US 21.7%, EU countries 17.6% (1993 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $600 million (1995 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: New Taiwan dollars per US$1 - 27.5 (1996), 27.4 (1995), 26.2 (1994), 26.6 (1993), 25.4 (1992)


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Electricity
Capacity: 21.87 million kW (1994)
Production: 117.16 billion kWh (1994)
Consumption per capita: 5,270 kWh (1995 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones: 9,391,304 (1996 est.)

Telephone system
Domestic: extensive microwave radio relay trunk system on east and west coasts
International: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); submarine cables to Japan (Okinawa), Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $11.5 billion (FY96/97)
Percent of gdp: 3.6% (FY96/97)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 38 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 37
With paved runways over 3047 m: 8
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 12
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6
With paved runways under 914 m: 7 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (1996 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1996 est.)

Pipelines: petroleum products 615 km; natural gas 97 km

Railways
Total: 4,600 km (498 km electrified); note - 1,108 km belongs to the Taiwan Railway Administration and the remaining 3,492 km is dedicated to industrial use
Narrow gauge: 4,600 km 1.067-m

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 200 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,872,739 GRT/8,965,523 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 50, cargo 29, combination bulk 3, combination ore/oil 1, container 85, oil tanker 19, refrigerated cargo 11, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1996 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: considered an important heroin transit point; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamines and heroin