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Taiwan
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 1947 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 Taiwan's eventual status - as well as domestic political and economic reform.
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 Center :
23 30 N, 121 00 E (Latitude, Longtitude)
Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :
| West | 119.53 |
| North | 25.30 |
| East | 122.00 |
| South | 21.90 |
Map references :
Asia
Area :
| total | 35 980 | square km |
| land | 32 260 | square km |
| water | 3 720 | square km |
Coastline :
1566.30 km
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 | 0 | metres |
| highest point | 3 952 | metres |
Land use :
| arable land | 24.00 | % |
| permanent crops | 1.00 | % |
| other | 75.00 | % |
Total renewable water resources :
67 cubic km
Natural hazards :
| earthquakes | typhoons |
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
Population :
22 974 347
Indicators :
| Growth rate | 0.23 | % |
| Birth rate | 8.99 | births/1,000 population |
| Total fertility rate | 1.14 | children born/woman |
| Death rate | 6.76 | deaths/1,000 population |
| Net migration rate | 0.03 | migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Age structure :
| 0-14 years | 16.70 | % |
| 15-64 years | 72.60 | % |
| 65 years and over | 10.70 | % |
Median age :
| total | 36.50 | years |
| male | 35.90 | years |
| female | 37.10 | years |
Sex ratio :
| at birth | 1.09 | male(s)/female |
| under 15 years | 1.08 | male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.02 | male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.94 | male(s)/female |
| total population | 1.02 | male(s)/female |
Health :
| Infant mortality rate | 5.35 | deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth - total population | 77.96 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - male | 75.12 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - female | 81.05 | years |
Religions :
| mixture of Buddhist and Taoist | 93.00 | % |
| Christian | 4.50 | % |
| other | 2.50 | % |
Languages :
| Mandarin Chinese | |
| Taiwanese | |
| Hakka dialects |
Literacy :
| total population | 96.10 | % |
Country name :
| conventional short form | Taiwan |
| local short form | T'ai-wan |
| former | Formosa |
Country Codes :
| ISO 3166 | TW |
| ISO Numeric | 158 |
| ISO3 | TWN |
| FIPS | TW |
| ccTLD | tw |
| English | Taiwan |
Administrative divisions :
includes main island of Taiwan plus smaller islands nearby 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 (chih-hsia-shih, singular and plural)|
Capital :
| name | Taipei |
| geographic coordinates | 25 03 N, 121 30 E |
| time difference | 8.00 |
International organization participation :
| ADB | APEC |
| BCIE | ICC |
| IOC | ITUC |
| WFTU | WTO |
National holiday :
Republic Day
1911-10-10
Executive branch :
| President MA Ying-jeou | Prime Minister |
Legislative branch :
| KMT | 53.50 | % |
| DPP | 38.20 | % |
| NPSU | 2.40 | % |
| PFP | 0.30 | % |
| others | 1.60 | % |
GDP - Gross Domestic product :
| PPP - Purchasing Power Parity | 693 300 000 000 | $ |
| Official Exchange Rate | 357 300 000 000 | |
| RGR - Real Growth rate | -4.00 | % |
| PPP - per capita | 30 200 | $ |
GDP Composition by sector :
| agriculture | 1.70 | % |
| industry | 23.10 | % |
| services | 75.20 | % |
Labor force - by occupation :
| agriculture | 5.10 | % |
| industry | 36.80 | % |
| services | 58.00 | % |
Other Indicators :
| Labor force | 10 910 000 | people |
| Unemployment rate | 6.40 | % |
| Population below poverty line | 0.95 | % |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.70 | % |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 19.10 | % of GDP |
| Current account balance | 34 040 000 000 | $ |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 341 000 000 000 | $ |
| Debt external | 82 680 000 000 | $ |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | 112 300 000 000 | $ |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | 59 820 000 000 | $ |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | 654 000 000 000 | $ |
| Military expenditures | 2.20 | % of GDP |
| Public debt | 34.60 | % of GDP |
Household income or consumption by percentage share :
| lowest 10% | 6.70 | % |
| highest 10% | 41.10 | % |
Budget :
| revenues | 60 720 000 000 | $ |
| expenditures | 78 500 000 000 | $ |
Agriculture - products :
| beef | corn |
| fish | fruits |
| milk | pigs |
| poultry | rice |
| tea | vegetables |
Industries :
| armaments | cement |
| chemicals | communications and information technology products |
| consumer products | electronics |
| food processing | iron |
| machinery | petroleum refining |
| pharmaceuticals | steel |
| textiles | vehicles |
Energy :
| Electricity Production | 225 000 000 000 | kWh |
| Electricity Consumption | 233 000 000 000 | kWh |
| Oil Production | 12 310 | bbl/day |
| Oil Consumption | 959 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Exports | 303 500 | bbl/day |
| Oil Imports | 1 251 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Proved reserves | 2 380 000 | bbl |
| Natural gas Production | 360 000 000 | cubic metres |
| Natural gas Consumption | 12 440 000 000 | cubic metres |
| Natural gas Imports | 12 080 000 000 | cubic metres |
| Electricity Exports | 6 229 000 000 | cubic metres |
Value :
198 400 000 000 $
Partners :
| China (cn) | 29.20 | % |
| United States (us) | 12.00 | % |
| Hong Kong (hk) | 9.80 | % |
| Japan (jp) | 6.90 | % |
| Singapore (sg) | 4.60 | % |
Commodities :
| and medical instruments | chemicals |
| electronics | flat panels |
| machinery | measuring |
| metals | optical |
| photographic | plastics |
| textiles |
Value :
173 000 000 000 $
Partners :
| Japan (jp) | 19.30 | % |
| China (cn) | 13.00 | % |
| United States (us) | 10.90 | % |
| Saudi Arabia (sa) | 6.30 | % |
| South Korea | 5.50 | % |
Commodities :
| crude petroleum | electronics |
| machinery | metals |
| organic chemicals | precision instruments |
Currency-code :
TWD
Currency-name :
New Taiwan dollar
Communications :
| Telephons Main lines in use | 14 273 000 | |
| Telephons Mobile, Cellular | 25 412 000 | |
| FM Radio broadcast stations | 143 | |
| Television broadcast stations | 76 | |
| Internet Country code (ccTLD) | tw | |
| Internet Hosts | 5 704 000 | |
| Internet Users | 15 143 000 |
Transportation :
| Airports with paved runways | 38 | |
| Heliports | 4 | |
| Pipelines - gas | 405 | km |
| Roadways - total | 41 279 | km |
| Roadways - expressways | 976 | km |
| Roadways - paved | 40 843 | km |
| Roadways - unpaved | 436 | km |
| Railways | 1 582 | km |
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