| 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. The island has become one of East Asia's economic "Tigers," while the dominant political issues continue to be the relationship with China, as well as continuing domestic political and economic reform.
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Name | conventional long form: Republic of China
conventional short form: Taiwan, R.O.C. | Government type | multiparty democracy | Capital | Taipei | National holiday | Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution),
10 October (1911) | President | MA Ying-jeou | International organization participation | ADB, APEC, BCIE, ICC, IOC, ITUC, WCL, WTO | Flag description | red field with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays |
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: 35,980 sq km
land: 32,260 sq km
water: 3,720 sq km
note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy islands | Coastline | 1,566.3 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
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) | Natural hazards | earthquakes and typhoons |
| | 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. Trade performance in 2007 pushed Taiwan's GDP growth rate above 5%, and unemployment is below 4%.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | |
$690.1 billion (2007 est.)
| GDP (official exchange rate) | | $375.6 billion (2007 est.) | GDP - real growth rate | | 5.5% (2007 est.) | GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $29,800 (2007 est.) | GDP - composition by sector | | agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 26.8%
services: 71.5% (2007 est.) | Labor force | | 10.78 million (2007 est.) | Labor force - by occupation | | agriculture: 5.3%
industry: 36.8%
services: 57.9% (2007 est.) | Unemployment rate | | 3.9% (2007) | Population below poverty line | | 0.95% (2007 est.) | Household income or consumption by percentage share | | lowest 10%: 6.7%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2002 est.) | Inflation rate (consumer prices) | | 1.8% (2007 est.) | Investment (gross fixed) | | 21.2% of GDP (2007 est.) | Budget | | revenues: $49 billion
expenditures: $5.19 billion (2007 est.) | Public debt | | 31.1% of GDP (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 | | 7.5% (2007 est.) | Electricity - productio: | | 235 billion kWh (2006) | Electricity - production by source | | fossil fuel: 71.4%
hydro: 6%
nuclear: 22.6%
other: 0% (2001) | Electricity - consumption | | 221 billion kWh (2006) | Electricity - exports | | 0 kWh (2007 est.) | Electricity - imports | | 0 kWh (2007) | Oil - production | | 406 bbl/day (2006 est.) | Oil - consumption | | 816,700 bbl/day (2006 est.) | Oil - exports | | 289,200 bbl/day (2006) | Oil - imports | | 1.208 million bbl/day (2006) | Oil - proved reserves | | 2.24 million bbl (1 January 2007 est.) | Natural gas - production | | 462.9 million cu m (2006) | Natural gas - consumption | | 10.28 billion cu m (2006) | Natural gas - exports | | 0 cu m (2007) | Natural gas - imports | | 10.16 billion cu m (2006) | Natural gas - proved reserves | | 13.55 billion cu m (2007 est.) | Current account balance | | $24.7 billion (2006) | Exports | | $246.7 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) | Exports - commodities | | electronic and electrical products, metals, textiles, plastics, chemicals, auto parts (2002) | Exports - partners | | China 24%, Hong Kong 15%, US 13.4%, Japan 6.7% (2007) | Imports | | $219.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) | Imports - commodities | | electronic and electrical products, machinery, petroleum, precision instruments, organic chemicals, metals (2002) | Imports - partners | | Japan 21%, China 12.7%, US 12.2%, South Korea 7.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.6% (2007) | Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $274.7 billion (31 December 2007) | Debt - external | | $85.8 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) | Market value of publicly traded shares | | $654 billion (28 December 2007) | Currency (code): | | New Taiwan Dollar (TWD) | Currency code | | TWD | Exchange rates | | New Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 32.84 (2007), 32.534 (2006), 31.71 (2005), 34.418 (2004), 34.575 (2003) | Fiscal year | | calendar year |
Telephones - main lines in use | 14.497 million (2006) | Telephones - mobile cellular | 23.249 million (2006) | 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 | Radio broadcast stations | AM 140, FM 229, shortwave 49 | Radios | 16 million (1994) | Television broadcast stations | 76 (46 digital and 30 analog) (2007) | Televisions | 8.8 million (1998) | Internet country code | .tw | Internet hosts | 5.111 million (2007) | Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | Internet users | 13.21 million (2005) |
Airports | 41 (2007) | Airports - with paved runways | total: 38
over 3,047 m: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 3 (2007) | Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
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 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,537,256 GRT/4,203,423 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 20, chemical tanker 2, container 21, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: 4 (Canada 3, France 1)
registered in other countries: 489 (Bahamas 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 1, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Italy 11, Liberia 82, Panama 306, Singapore 60, Thailand 1, UK 11, unknown 3) (2007) | Ports and terminals | Chilung (Keelung), Kaohsiung, Taichung |
Source: CIA, The World Factbook, online publication, 2008.
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