Background: In 1895 military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan 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 using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the local population within the governing structure. In 2000 Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic 'Tigers.' The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform.

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 islands
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1566.3 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 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 3,952 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 24%
Permanent crops: 1%
Other: 75% (2001)

Irrigated land: NA

Total renewable water resources: 67 km³ (2000)

Natural hazards: earthquakes and typhoons

Geography
Note: strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait

Population: 22,920,946 (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 0.238% (2008 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Taiwan (singular and plural)
Note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan
Adjective: Taiwan

Ethnic groups: Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84% mainland Chinese 14% indigenous 2%

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

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 2,057,458/female 1,900,449)
15-64 years: 72.3% (male 8,362,038/female 8,204,834)
65 years and over: 10.5% (male 1,167,476/female 1,228,691) (2008 est.)

Median age
Total: 36 years
Male: 35.5 years
Female: 36.6 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.238% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 8.99 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 6.65 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.04 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 est.)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions raw sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal
International agreements party to: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.09 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.08 male/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male/female
Total population: 1.02 male/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 5.45 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 5.75 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 5.11 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.76 years
Male: 74.89 years
Female: 80.89 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.13 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 96.1%
Male: NA
Female: NA (2003)

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

Government type: multiparty democracy

Capital
Name: Taipei
Geographic coordinates: 25 03 N, 121 30 E
Time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions
Note: Taiwan uses a variety of romanization systems; while a modified Wade-Giles system still dominates, the city of Taipei has adopted a Pinyin romanization for street and place names within its boundaries; other local authorities use different romanization systems; names for administrative divisions that follow are taken from the Taiwan Yearbook 2007 published by the Government Information Office in Taipei.
Counties: Changhua, Chiayi [county], Hsinchu, Hualien, Kaohsiung [county], Kinmen, Lienchiang, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei [county], Taitung, Taoyuan, Yilan, and Yunlin
Municipalities: Chiayi [city], Hsinchu, Keelung, Taichung, Tainan
Special municipalities: Kaohsiung [city], Taipei [city]

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

Constitution
Note: constitution adopted on 25 December 1946; went into effect on 25 December 1947

Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President MA Ying-jeou (since 20 May 2008); Vice President Vincent SIEW (since 20 May 2008)
Head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) LIO Chao-shiuan (since 20 May 2008); Vice Premier (Vice President of Executive Yuan) Paul CHIU (CHANG-hsiung) (since 20 May 2008)
Cabinet: Executive Yuan - (ministers appointed by president on recommendation of premier)
Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 22 March 2008 (next to be held in March 2012); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier
Election results: MA Ying-jeou elected president on 22 March 2008; percent of vote - MA Ying-jeou 58.45%, Frank HSIEH 41.55%; MA Ying-jeou takes office on 20 May 2008

Legislative branch
Elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 12 January 2008 (next to be held in January 2012)
Election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - KMT 53.5%, DPP 38.2%, NPSU 2.4%, PFP 0.3%, others 1.6%, independents 4%; seats by party - KMT 81, DPP 27, NPSU 3, PFP 1, independent 1

Judicial branch: Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [TSAI Ing-wen]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [WU Po-hsiung]; Non-Partisan Solidarity Union or NPSU [CHANG Po-ya]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG]

International organization participation: ADB APEC BCIE ICC IOC ITUC WCL WFTU WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) which has its headquarters in Taipei and in the US in Washington DC; there are also branch offices called Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in 12 other US cities
From the us: none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St. Suite 1700 Arlington VA 22,209-1996 telephone: [1] (703) 525-8,474 FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134 Hsin Yi Road Section 3 Taipei Taiwan telephone: [886] (2) 2,162-2000 FAX: [886] (2) 2,162-2,251; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road 5th Floor Kaohsiung Taiwan telephone: [886] (7) 238-7,744 FAX: [886] (7) 238-5,237; and the American Trade Center Room 3,208 International Trade Building Taipei World Trade Center 333 Keelung Road Section 1 Taipei Taiwan 10,548 telephone: [886] (2) 2,720-1550 FAX: [886] (2) 2,757-7,162

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

Economy overview: Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by the authorities. In keeping with this trend some large state-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The island runs a large trade surplus and its foreign reserves are among the world's largest. Despite restrictions on cross-strait links China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market and its second-largest source of imports after Japan. China is also the island's number one destination for foreign direct investment. Strong trade performance in 2007 pushed Taiwan's GDP growth rate above 5% and unemployment is below 4%.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $698.6 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 5.7% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $30,100 (2007 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.4%
Industry: 27.5%
Services: 71.1% (2007 est.)

Agriculture products: rice corn vegetables fruit tea; pigs poultry beef milk; fish

Industries: electronics petroleum refining armaments chemicals textiles iron and steel machinery cement food processing vehicles consumer products pharmaceuticals

Industrial production growth rate: 9.2% (2007 est.)

Labor force: 10.71 million (2007 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 5.3%
By occupation industry: 36.8%
By occupation services: 57.9% (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3.9% (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 6.7%
Highest 10: 41.1% (2002 est.)

Budget
Revenues: $76.2 billion
Expenditures: $75.65 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 27.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.8% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate: NA

Commercial bank prime lending rate: NA

Stock of domestic credit: NA

Market value of publicly traded shares: $654 billion (28 December 2007)

Current account balance: $32.88 billion (2007 est.)

Exports: $246.5 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: electronic and electrical products metals textiles plastics chemicals auto parts (2002)
Partners: China 32.6% US 12.9% Hong Kong 8.6% Japan 6.4% Singapore 5% (2007)

Imports: $215.1 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: electronic and electrical products machinery petroleum precision instruments organic chemicals metals (2002)
Partners: Japan 22.7% US 13.3% China 11.2% South Korea 6.6% Saudi Arabia 4.8% Singapore 4.6% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $275 billion (31 December 2007)

Debt external: $97.85 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $92.83 billion (2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $108.9 billion (2007)

Exchange rates: New Taiwan dollars (TWD) per US dollar - 32.84 (2007) 32.534 (2006) 31.71 (2005) 34.418 (2004) 34.575 (2003)

Electricity
Production: 216.6 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Consumption: 208.7 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 400 million m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 11.3 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 10.9 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 6.229 billion m³ (1 January 2008 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 14.313 million (2007)
Mobile cellular: 24.302 million (2007)

Telephone system
General assessment: provides telecommunications service for every business and private need
Domestic: thoroughly modern; completely digitalized
International: country code - 886; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2

Internet
Country code: .tw
Hosts: 5.225 million (2008)
Users: 14.76 million (2007)

Military expenditures: 2.2% of GDP (2006)

Military service age and obligation: 19-35 years of age for male compulsory military service; service obligation 14 months (reducing to 1 year in 2009) year; women may enlist; women in Air Force service are restricted to noncombat roles; reserve obligation to age 30 (Army); the Ministry of Defense has announced plans to implement an incremental voluntary enlistment system beginning 2010 with 10% fewer conscripts each year thereafter although nonvolunteers will still be required to perform alternative service or go through 3-4 months of military training (2008)

Airports: 41 (2007)
With paved runways total: 38
With paved runways over 3047 m: 8
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 11
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 3
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 2 (2007)

Heliports: 4 (2007)

Pipelines: condensate 25 km; gas 661 km (2007)

Railways
Total: 1,588 km
Standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 1,093 km 1.067-m gauge
Note: 150 km .762-m gauge (belonging primarily to Taiwan Sugar Corporation and Taiwan Forestry Bureau; some to other entities) (2007)

Roadways
Total: 40,262 km
Paved: 38,171 km (includes 976 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 2,091 km (2007)

Merchant marine
Total: 102
By type: bulk carrier 32, cargo 19, chemical tanker 1, container 24, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 2
Foreign owned: 3 (Canada 2, France 1)
Registered in other countries: 536 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 1, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Italy 13, Kiribati 5, Liberia 91, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 320, Philippines 1, Sierra Leone 1, Singapore 72, Thailand 1, UK 11, unknown 3) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Chilung (Keelung) Kaohsiung Taichung

Disputes international: involved in complex dispute with China Malaysia Philippines Vietnam and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 'Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea' has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding 'code of conduct' desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands are occupied by China but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003 China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting

Illicit drugs: regional transit point for heroin methamphetamine and precursor chemicals; transshipment point for drugs to Japan; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin; rising problems with use of ketamine and club drugs