Taiwan

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

Area - 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
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 sq km

Natural hazards: earthquakes and typhoons

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

Environment - international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Population: 21,699,776 (July 1997 est.)

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.)

Population growth rate: 0.95% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 14.97 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 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: 1.18 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 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.)

Nationality:
noun : Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: 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:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86%
male: 93%
female: 79% (1980 est.)

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Taiwan
local long form: none
local short form: T'ai-wan

Data code: TW

Government type: multiparty democratic regime headed by popularly elected president

National 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

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, 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: Kuomintang (KMT, Nationalist Party), LI Teng-hui, chairman; Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), HSU Hsin-Liang, chairman; Chinese New Party (CNP), CHEN Kuei-Miao; Labor Party (LP), leader NA; Taiwan Independence Party (TAIP), leader NA

Political pressure groups and leaders: 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, including within the DPP, oppose the ruling party's traditional stand that the island will eventually reunify 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

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

Diplomatic representation 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) 702-7675, 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, FAX [886] 757-7162

Flag description: red 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 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $315 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.7% (1996)

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

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture : 3.3%
industry: 35.7%
services: 61% (1996)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 3.1% (1996)

Labor force:
total: 9.31 million
by occupation: services 52%, industry 38%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2.6% (1996)

Budget:
revenues: $57.6 billion
expenditures: $79.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 4.1% (1996)

Electricity - capacity: 21.87 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 117.16 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 5,270 kWh (1995 est.)

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

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.)

Debt - external: $600 million (1995 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 New Taiwan dollar (NT$) = 100 cents

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

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

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

Radio broadcast stations: AM 91, FM 23, shortwave 0

Radios: 8.62 million

Television broadcast stations: 15 (repeaters 13)

Televisions: 10.8 million (1996 est.)

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

Highways:
total : 19,584 km
paved: 17,124 km (including 387 km of expressways)
unpaved: 2,460 km

Pipelines: petroleum products 615 km; natural gas 97 km

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

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.)

Airports: 38 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 37
over 3,047 m: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m : 6
under 914 m: 7 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1996 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1996 est.)

Military branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, Coastal Patrol and Defense Command, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces

Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 6,394,422 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 4,927,346 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 207,332 (1997 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $11.5 billion (FY96/97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.6% (FY96/97)

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

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