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 native 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.

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

23 30 N, 121 00 E

Southeast Asia

total: 35,980 sq km
land: 32,260 sq km
water: 3,720 sq km
note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy

slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined

0 km

1,566.3 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

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

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

lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m

small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos

arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 1%
other: 75% (2001)

NA

earthquakes and typhoons

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

party to: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status

strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait

23,036,087 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 19.4% (male 2,330,951/female 2,140,965)
15-64 years: 70.8% (male 8,269,421/female 8,040,169)
65 years and over: 9.8% (male 1,123,429/female 1,131,152) (2006 est.)

total: 34.6 years
male: 34.1 years
female: 35 years (2006 est.)

0.61% (2006 est.)

12.56 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

6.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 6.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 77.43 years
male: 74.67 years
female: 80.47 years (2006 est.)

1.57 children born/woman (2006 est.)

NA

NA

NA

noun: Taiwan (singular and plural)
note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan
adjective: Taiwan

Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%

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

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

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1%
male: NA%
female: NA% (2003)

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Taiwan
local long form: none
local short form: T'ai-wan
former: Formosa

multiparty democracy

Taipei

includes central island of Taiwan plus numerous smaller islands near central island and off coast of China's Fujian Province; Taiwan is divided into 18 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special municipalities (chuan-shih, singular and plural)
counties: Chang-hua, Chia-i, Hsin-chu, Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung (county), Kin-men, Lien-chiang, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan, T'ai-pei (county), T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin
municipalities: Chia-i, Chi-lung, Hsin-chu, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan
special municipalities: Kao-hsiung city, T'ai-pei city
note: Taiwan generally uses Wade-Giles system for romanization; special municipality of Taipei adopted standard pinyin romanization for street and place names within city boundaries, other local authorities have selected a variety of romanization systems

Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911)

25 December 1946; amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005

based on civil law system

20 years of age; universal

chief of state: President CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000) and Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000)
head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) SU Tseng-chang (since 25 January 2006) and Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) TSAI Ing-wen (since 25 January 2006)
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 20 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier
election results: CHEN Shui-bian re-elected president; percent of vote - CHEN Shui-bian (DPP) 50.1%, LIEN Chan (KMT) 49.9%

Legislative Yuan (225 seats - 168 elected by popular vote, 41 elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, eight elected from overseas Chinese constituencies on basis of proportion of island-wide votes received by participating political parties, eight elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; members serve three-year terms); National Assembly (300 seat nonstanding body; delegates nominated by parties and elected by proportional representation six to nine months after Legislative Yuan calls to amend Constitution, impeach president, or change national borders) - see note
note: as a result of constitutional amendments approved by National Assembly in June 2005, number of seats in legislature will be reduced from 225 to 113 beginning with election in 2007; amendments also eliminated National Assembly thus giving Taiwan a unicameral legislature
elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 11 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2007); National Assembly - last held 14 May 2005; dissolved in June 2005
election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - DPP 38%, KMT 35%, PFP 15%, TSU 8%, other parties and independents 4%; seats by party - DPP 89, KMT 79, PFP 34, TSU 12, other parties 7, independents 4; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - DPP 42.5%, KMT 38.9%, TSU 7%, PFP 6%, others 6.6%; seats by party - DPP 127, KMT 117, TSU 21, PFP 18, others 17 (2005)

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

Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [YU Shyi-kun]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [MA Ying-jeou]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG (SOONG Chu-yu)]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [SU Chin-chiang]; other minor parties including the Chinese New Party or NP

Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's legislature have opened public debate on the island's national identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that Taiwan currently enjoys de facto independence and - whatever the ultimate outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's people must have the deciding voice; advocates of Taiwan independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for Taiwan Nation Building

APEC, AsDB, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFRCS, IOC, WCL, WTO
note: Taiwan has acquired observer status on the competition committee and special observer status on the Trade Committee of the OECD, and is seeking observer status with the backing of the US in WHO

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) in the US with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12 other US cities

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 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2162-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2162-2251; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 238-7744, FAX: [886] (7) 238-5237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162

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

Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large, government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Agriculture contributes less than 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia. China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market and, in 2005, Taiwan's third-largest source of imports after Japan and the US. Taiwan has benefited from cross-Strait economic integration and a sharp increase in world demand to achieve substantial growth in its export sector and a seven-year-high real GDP growth of 6.1% in 2004. However, excess inventory, higher international oil prices, and rising interest rates dampened consumption in developed markets, and GDP growth dropped to 3.8% in 2005. The service sector, which accounts for 69% of Taiwan's GDP, has continued to expand, while unemployment and inflation rates have declined.

$611.5 billion (2005 est.)

$326.5 billion (2005 est.)

3.8% (2005 est.)

$26,700 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 29.3%
services: 69% (2005 est.)

10.6 million (2005 est.)

agriculture: 6%
industry: 35.8%
services: 58.2% (2005 est.)

4.2% (2005 est.)

0.9% (2005)

lowest 10%: 6.7%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2002 est.)

2.3% (2005 est.)

20.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $41.67 billion
expenditures: $50.26 billion; including capital expenditures of $14.4 billion (2005 est.)

33.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish

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

3% (2005 est.)

218.3 billion kWh (2004)

fossil fuel: 71.4%
hydro: 6%
nuclear: 22.6%
other: 0% (2001)

206.1 billion kWh (2004)

0 kWh (2004)

0 kWh (2004)

8,354 bbl/day (2003 est.)

915,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

NA bbl/day

NA bbl/day

2.9 million bbl (2005 est.)

970 million cu m (2003 est.)

8.45 billion cu m (2003 est.)

0 cu m (2005 est.)

7.48 billion cu m (2005 est.)

76.46 billion cu m (2005)

$15.03 billion (2005 est.)

$189.4 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

computer products and electrical equipment, metals, textiles, plastics and rubber products, chemicals (2002)

China 21.6%, US 16.2%, Hong Kong 15.1%, Japan 7.7% (2005)

$181.6 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and electrical equipment 44.5%, minerals, precision instruments (2002)

Japan 25.3%, US 11.6%, China 11%, South Korea 7.3% (2005)

$225.8 billion (2005 est.)

$81.64 billion (2005 est.)

new Taiwan dollar (TWD)

TWD

new Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 31.71 (2005), 34.418 (2004), 34.575 (2003), 33.8 (2002), 33.09 (2001)

1 July - 30 June (up to FY98/99); 1 July 1999 - 31 December 2000 for FY00; calendar year (after FY00)

13,529,900 (2004)

25,089,600 (2003)

general assessment: provides telecommunications service for every business and private need
domestic: thoroughly modern; completely digitalized
international: country code - 886; 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 (1999)

AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999)

16 million (1994)

29 (plus two repeaters) (1997)

8.8 million (1998)

.tw

3,838,383 (2005)

8 (2000)

13.8 million (2005)

42 (2005)

total: 38
over 3,047 m: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 2 (2005)

total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 3 (2005)

3 (2005)

condensate 25 km; gas 435 km (2004)

total: 2,497 km
narrow gauge: 1,097 km 1.067-m gauge (685 km electrified)
note: 1,400 km .762-m gauge (belonging to the Taiwan Sugar Corporation and to the Taiwan Forestry Bureau) used to haul products and limited numbers of passengers (2004)

total: 37,299 km
paved: 35,621 km (including 1,789 km of expressways)
unpaved: 1,678 km (2002)

total: 123 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,095,383 GRT/5,044,249 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 33, cargo 22, chemical tanker 2, container 35, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: 3 (Hong Kong 3)
registered in other countries: 450 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 2, Gibraltar 1, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 8, Italy 10, Liberia 68, Malta 1, Panama 302, Philippines 2, Singapore 49, UK 1, US 1, unknown 2) (2005)

Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Kao-hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung

Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command

19-35 years of age for military service; service obligation 16 months (to be shortened to 12 months in 2008); women in Air Force service are restricted to noncombat roles (2005)

males age 19-49: 5,883,828
females age 19-49: 5,680,773 (2005 est.)

males age 19-49: 4,749,537
females age 19-49: 4,644,607 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49: 174,173
females age 19-49: 163,683 (2005 est.)

$7.93 billion (2005 est.)

2.4% (2005 est.)

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

regional transit point for heroin and methamphetamine; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin; renewal of domestic methamphetamine production is a problem