Taiwan

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

noun:

Taiwan (singular and plural)

adjective:

Taiwan (or Taiwanese)

note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan

total:

45.1 years (2025 est.)

male:

43.6 years

female:

45.5 years

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

3.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

male:

4.2 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

3.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

81.6 years (2024 est.)

male:

78.6 years

female:

84.7 years

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

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

urban population:

80.1% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.65% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

7.336 million tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

13.8% (2022 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Taiwan

local long form:

none

local short form:

Taiwan

former:

Formosa

etymology:

• the name may derive from the Chinese words tai (terrace) and wan (bay), referring to the island's terrain;
• in 1590, the Portuguese named it Formosa, meaning "beautiful"

name:

Taipei

geographic coordinates:

25 02 N, 121 31 E

time difference:

UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

the name means "Northern Taiwan," from the Chinese words tai (a short form of Taiwan) and bei (north), reflecting the city's position in the far north of the island

• includes main island of Taiwan, plus smaller islands nearby and off coast of China's Fujian Province;
• Taiwan is divided into 13 counties ( xian , singular and plural), 3 cities ( shi , singular and plural), and 6 special municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan

counties:

Changhua, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Hualien, Kinmen, Lienchiang, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taitung, Yilan, Yunlin

cities:

Chiayi, Hsinchu, Keelung

special municipalities:

Kaohsiung (city), New Taipei (city), Taichung (city), Tainan (city), Taipei (city), Taoyuan (city)

note: Taiwan uses a variety of romanization systems for names; a modified Wade-Giles system still dominates, but the city of Taipei has adopted a Pinyin romanization for street and place names; other local authorities use different romanization systems

history:

previous 1912, 1931; latest adopted 25 December 1946, promulgated 1 January 1947, effective 25 December 1947

amendment process:

• proposed by at least one fourth of the Legislative Yuan membership;
• passage requires approval by at least three-fourths majority vote of at least three fourths of the Legislative Yuan membership and approval in a referendum by more than half of eligible voters

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Taiwan

dual citizenship recognized:

yes, except that citizens of Taiwan are not recognized as dual citizens of the People's Republic of China

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President LAI Ching-te (since 20 May 2024)

head of government:

Premier CHO Jung-tai (President of the Executive Yuan) (since 20 May 2024)

cabinet:

Executive Yuan; ministers appointed by president on recommendation of premier

election/appointment process:

• president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple-majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term);
• premier appointed by the president;
• vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier

most recent election date:

13 January 2024

election results:

2024: LAI Ching-te elected president; percent of vote - LAI Ching-te (DPP) 40.1%, HOU Yu-ih (KMT) 33.5%, KO Wen-je (TPP) 26.5%); 2020: TSAI Ing-wen reelected president; percent of vote - TSAI Ing-wen (DPP) 57.1%, HAN Kuo-yu (KMT) 38.6%, James SOONG (PFP) 4.3%

expected date of next election:

2028

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and approximately 100 judges organized into civil and criminal panels, each with a chief justice and 4 associate justices);
• Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 13 justices)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court justices appointed for life by the president;
• Constitutional Court justices appointed by the president, with approval of the Legislative Yuan, for 8-year terms, with half the membership renewed every 4 years

subordinate courts:

• high courts;
• district courts;
• hierarchy of administrative courts

• Democratic Progressive Party or DPP
• Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party)
• Taiwan People's Party or TPP

note: the DPP and the KMT are the two major political parties; more than 30 parties garnered votes in the 2024 election

chief of mission:

• the US does not have an embassy in Taiwan;
• commercial and cultural relations with the people of Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a private nonprofit corporation that performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts;
• it is managed by Director Raymond F. GREENE (since 8 July 2024)

mailing address:

4170 AIT Taipei Place, Washington DC 20521-4170

telephone:

[886] 2-2162-2000

FAX:

[886] 2-2162-2251

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.ait.org.tw/

branch office(s):

American Institute in Taiwan; No. 100, Jinhu Road,; Neihu District 11461, Taipei City

other offices:

Kaohsiung (Branch Office)

description:

red field with a dark blue rectangle in the upper-left corner, bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays

meaning:

• blue stands for liberty, justice, and democracy;
• red for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism;
• white for equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood;
• the 12 rays represent the months of the year and the traditional Chinese hours (each ray equals two hours)

history:

the blue-and-white design of the canton (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates to 1895

note: similar to the flag of Samoa

title:

"Zhonghua Minguo guoge" (National Anthem of the Republic of China)

lyrics/music:

HU Han-min, TAI Chi-t'ao, and LIAO Chung-k'ai/CHENG Mao-yun

history:

• adopted 1937;
• also the song of the Kuomintang Party;
• informally known as "San Min Chu I" or "San Min Zhu Yi" (Three Principles of the People);
• the anthem is banned from performance in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau

• high-income East Asian economy;
• most technologically advanced computer microchip manufacturing;
• increasing Chinese interference threatens market capabilities;
• minimum wages rising;
• longstanding regional socioeconomic inequality

on food:

13.8% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

2.5% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

1 (2025)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

0.94GW (2025 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

6.9% (2023 est.)

Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down:

5 (2025)

production:

5.212 million metric tons (2023 est.)

consumption:

64.609 million metric tons (2023 est.)

exports:

47,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

imports:

58.15 million metric tons (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

1 million metric tons (2023 est.)

total petroleum production:

800 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

954,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

2.38 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

60.761 million cubic meters (2023 est.)

consumption:

27.222 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

imports:

26.997 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

6.23 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• 5 national TV networks with about 22 stations;
• over 300 satellite TV channels available;
• about half of households use multi-channel cable TV;
• almost all subscribe to digital cable TV;
• national and regional radio networks with about 171 radio stations (2023)

total:

1,613.1 km (2018)

standard gauge:

345 km (2018) 1.435-m gauge (345 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

1,118.1 km (2018) 1.067-m gauge (793.9 km electrified); 150 0.762-m gauge note: the 0.762-gauge track belongs to three entities: the Forestry Bureau, Taiwan Cement, and TaiPower

total ports:

8 (2024)

large:

1

medium:

3

small:

2

very small:

2

ports with oil terminals:

8

key ports:

Chi-Lung, Hua-Lien Kang, Kao-Hsiung, Su-Ao

Taiwan Armed Forces:

Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force, Information Communication and Electronic Force (ICEF)

Ocean Affairs Council:

Coast Guard Administration (CGA)

Ministry of Interior:

National Police (2025)

note: the CGA is a law enforcement organization with homeland security functions during peacetime and national defense missions during wartime

• the military's inventory is a mix of domestically produced and foreign-supplied armaments, mostly from the US either as secondhand or direct acquisitions;
• Taiwan's domestic defense industry produces weapons systems such as aircraft, armored vehicles, missiles, and naval platforms (2025)

• men 18-36 years of age may volunteer or must complete 12 months of compulsory military service;
• civil service can be substituted for military service in some cases;
• women can volunteer (2025)

note: in January 2024, Taiwan extended compulsory service from 4 to 12 months for men born in 2005 and thereafter

• the military’s primary responsibility is external security, including the defense and protection of the country’s air space, maritime claims, sea lines of communications, sovereignty, and territory;
• its main focus is the challenge posed by the People’s Republic of China (2025)

• sounding rockets launched from Jui Peng Air Base (Pingtung);
• has announced intentions to build a future national space port on the southeast coast (Pingtung) (2025)

• has had a national space program since the early 1990s, with a focus on acquiring satellites and developing independent space capabilities, such as rocket manufacturing and satellite launch services;
• manufactures and operates satellites and sounding rockets;
• researching and developing other space technologies, including remote sensing, telecommunications, small satellites, satellite payloads and ground station components, spacecraft components, navigational control, and rocket propulsion systems;
• has bilateral relations with the space programs of France, India, Japan, Paraguay, Poland, the UK, and the US;
• has a commercial space industry that provides components and expertise for the Taiwan Space Agency and is independently developing satellites and a small satellite launch vehicle;
• the government passed a space promotion act in 2021 to encourage private investment in the space industry (2025)

• 1997 - launched first sounding rocket
• 1999 - first scientific satellite (FORMOSAT-1) built and launched by the US
• 2004 - first remote sensing (RS) satellite (FORMOSAT-2) built by France and launched by US
• 2017 - first domestically built RS satellite (FORMOSAT-5) launched by US
• 2021 - initiated development of a commercial 3-stage, hybrid-engine rocket (Hapith-5)
• 2023 - first domestically made RS/meteorological satellite (FormoSat-7R/Triton) launched on European rocket