About Taiwan
Map
Location: 23 30 N,
121 00 E -- 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
Description: red with
a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun
with 12 triangular rays
Geography
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 references: Southeast
Asia
Area:
total area: 35,980
sq km
land area: 32,260
sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined
note: includes the
Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline: 1,448
km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
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
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
lowest point: South
China Sea 0 m
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%
meadows and pastures:
5%
forest and woodland:
55%
other: 15%
Irrigated land: NA
sq km
Environment:
current issues: water
pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; air pollution; contamination
of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species
natural hazards:
earthquakes and typhoons
international agreements:
signed, but not ratified - Marine Life Conservation
People
Population: 21,465,881
(July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 23% (male
2,605,495; female 2,436,864)
15-64 years: 69%
(male 7,505,344; female 7,252,188)
65 years and over:
8% (male 907,310; female 758,680) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.89% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 15.01
births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.52
deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
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:
1.2 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female
(1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
76.02 years
male: 73.43 years
female: 78.82 years
(1996 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.76 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Chinese (singular
and plural)
adjective: Chinese
Ethnic divisions:
Taiwanese 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%
Religions: mixture
of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
Languages: Mandarin
Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
Literacy: age 15
and over can read and write (1980 est.)
total population:
86%
male: 93%
female: 79%
Government
Name of country:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Taiwan
local long form:
none
local short form:
T'ai-wan
Data code: TW
Type of government:
multiparty democratic regime; opposition political parties legalized in
March 1989
Capital: Taipei
Administrative divisions:
some of the ruling party in Taipei claim to be the government of all China;
in keeping with that claim, the central administrative divisions include
2 provinces (sheng, singular and plural) and 2 municipalities* (shih, singular
and plural) - Fu-chien (some 20 offshore islands of Fujian Province including
Quemoy and Matsu), Kao-hsiung*, T'ai-pei*, 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
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
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, reelected by popular vote in the first-ever direct elections for
president 23 March 1996); election last held 23 March 1996 (next to be
held NA 2000); results - LI Teng-hui 54%, PENG Ming-min 21%, LIN Yang-kang
15%, and CHEN Li-an 10%; Vice President-elect LIEN Chan (to be inaugurated
20 May 1996)
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) were appointed by the president; note - LIEN Chan
will continue to serve as premier until 20 May 1996 when he will be inaugurated
as vice president; a new premier is expected to be appointed sometime in
May 1996
cabinet: Executive
Yuan was appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislative Yuan and unicameral National Assembly
Legislative Yuan:
elections last held 2 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1998);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (164 total) KMT 85, DPP
54, CNP 21, independents 4; note - since the election, there has been a
change in the distribution of seats - KMT 83, DPP 54, CNP 21, independents
6
National Assembly:
elections last held 23 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2000); results -
KMT 55%, DPP 30%, CNP 14%, other 1%; seats - (334 total) KMT 183, DPP 99,
CNP 46, other 6
Judicial branch:
Judicial Yuan, justices nominated and appointed for nine-year terms by
the president
Political parties and
leaders: Kuomintang (KMT, Nationalist Party), LI Teng-hui, chairman;
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), leader NA; Chinese New Party (CNP),
leader NA; Labor Party (LP), leader NA
Other political or pressure
groups: Taiwan independence movement, various 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
the opposition Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan's legislature have
opened public debate on the island's national identity; advocates of Taiwan
independence, both within the DPP and the ruling Kuomintang, oppose the
ruling party's traditional stand that the island will eventually unify
with mainland China; the aims 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
International organization
participation: APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, IOC, WCL, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation
in 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 10 other US cities
US diplomatic representation:
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) 702-7675, and in
Kao-hsiung at #2 Chung Cheng 3d Road, telephone [886] (7) 224-0154 through
0157, FAX [886] (7) 223-8237, and the American Trade Center at Room 3207
International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road
Section 1, Taipei 10548, telephone [886] (2) 720-1550
Flag: red with a
dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun
with 12 triangular rays
Economy
Economic overview: Taiwan
has a dynamic capitalist economy with considerable government guidance
of investment and foreign trade 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 about 4% to GDP, down from 35% in 1952.
Taiwan currently ranks as number 13 among major trading countries. Traditional
labor-intensive industries are steadily being 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.
GDP: purchasing power
parity - $290.5 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate:
6% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $13,510
(1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 37.3%
services: 59.1% (1994
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer
prices): 4% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 8.874
million
by occupation: services
49%, industry 39%, agriculture 11% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
1.6% (1995)
Budget:
revenues: $30.3 billion
expenditures: $30.1
billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)
Industries: electronics,
textiles, chemicals, clothing, food processing, plywood, sugar milling,
cement, shipbuilding, petroleum refining
Industrial production
growth rate: 4.5% (1994 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 21,460,000
kW
production: 108 billion
kWh
consumption per capita:
4,789 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: rice,
wheat, corn, soybeans, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk;
fish catch increasing, reached 1.4 million metric tons in 1988
Illicit drugs: an
important heroin transit point; also a drug money laundering center
Exports: $93 billion
(f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: electrical
machinery 19.7%, electronic products 19.6%, textiles 10.9%, footwear 3.3%,
foodstuffs 1.0%, plywood and wood products 0.9% (1993 est.)
partners: US 27.6%,
Hong Kong 21.7%, EU countries 15.2%, Japan 10.5% (1994 est.)
Imports: $85.1 billion
(c.i.f., 1994)
commodities: machinery
and equipment 15.7%, electronic products 15.6%, chemicals 9.8%, iron and
steel 8.5%, crude oil 3.9%, foodstuffs 2.1% (1993 est.)
partners: Japan 30.1%,
US 21.7%, EU countries 17.6% (1993 est.)
External debt: $620
million (1992 est.)
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 New Taiwan
dollar (NT$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: New
Taiwan dollars per US$1 - 27.4 (1995), 26.2 (1994), 26.6 (1993), 25.4 (1992),
25.748 (1991)
Fiscal year: 1 July
- 30 June
Transportation
Railways:
total: 4,600 km;
note - 1,075 km in common carrier service and about 3,525 km is dedicated
to industrial use
narrow gauge: 4,600
km 1.067-m
Highways:
total: 19,860 km
paved: 17,119 km
(including 382 km of expressways)
unpaved: 2,741 km
(1990 est.)
Pipelines: petroleum
products 615 km; natural gas 97 km
Ports: Chi-lung (Keelung),
Hua-lien, Kao-hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung
Merchant marine:
total: 198 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,812,534 GRT/8,885,092 DWT
ships by type: bulk
50, cargo 29, combination bulk 3, combination ore/oil 1, container 83,
oil tanker 19, refrigerated cargo 11, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 38
with paved runways over
3 047 m: 8
with paved runways 2
438 to 3 047 m: 12
with paved runways 1
524 to 2 437 m: 4
with paved runways 914
to 1 523 m: 6
with paved runways under
914 m: 7
with unpaved runways
1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995
est.)
Communications
Telephones: 10,253,773
(1993 est.)
Telephone system:
best developed system in Asia outside of Japan
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
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 91, FM 23, shortwave 0
Radios: 8.62 million
Television broadcast
stations: 15 (repeaters 13)
Televisions: 6.66
million (1993 est.)
Defense
Branches: Army, Navy
(includes Marines), Air Force, Coastal Patrol and Defense Command, Armed
Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49:
6,278,159
males fit for military
service: 4,849,057
males reach military
age (19) annually: 204,313 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $11.5 billion, 3.6% of GDP (FY96/97)
Geography