Taiwan

multiparty democratic regime

Taiwan as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 70 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalTaipei

Area35,980 km2

Populationas each edition published it

20.88 million July 1992 · 20.55m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 1% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 33.2 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 75.04 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.8 children per woman 1992 · 1.7 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 17 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $10,000 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 6.7% in 1993

Geography

12 fields

Total area

35,980km2

Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

Coastline

1,448km

land boundaries: noneExclusive economic zone: 200 nmTerritorial sea: 12 nm

Land area

32,260 km2; includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy

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

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 14%

People

14 fields

Population

20,878,556

(July 1992), growth rate 1.0% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth

16Death

Ethnic divisions

Taiwanese 84%mainland Chinese 14%aborigine 2%

Literacy

91.2%

(male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990)

Nationality

noun - Chinese (singular and plural); adjective - Chinese

Religions

mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%

Languages

Mandarin Chinese (official); Taiwanese (Miu) and Hakka dialects also used

Labor force

7,900,000; industry and commerce 53%, services 22%, agriculture 15.6%, civil administration 7% (1989)

Government

Multiparty democratic regime

18 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

65%

KMT 65%DPP 33%independents 2%

Type

multiparty democratic regime; opposition political parties legalized in March, 1989

Administrative divisions

the authorities 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);
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

Constitution

25 December 1947, presently undergoing revision

Legal system

based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday

National Day (Anniversary of the Revolution), 10 October (1911)

Executive branch

president, vice president, premier of the Executive Yuan, vice premier of the Executive Yuan, Executive Yuan

Legislative branch

unicameral Legislative Yuan, unicameral National Assembly

Leaders

Chief of State:: President LI Teng-hui (since 13 January 1988); Vice President LI Yuan-zu (since 20 May 1990)
Head of Government:: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) HAO Po-ts'un (since 2 May 1990);
Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) SHIH Ch'i-yang (since NA July 1988)

Political parties and leaders

Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), LI Teng-hui, chairman;
Democratic Socialist Party and Young China Party controlled by Kuomintang;
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP);
Labor Party;
27 other minor parties

Elections

President:: last held 21 March 1990 (next to be held NA March 1996); results - President LI Teng-hui was reelected by the National Assembly
Vice President:: last held 21 March 1990 (next to be held NA March 1996); results - LI Yuan-zu was elected by the National Assembly
Legislative Yuan:: last held 2 December 1989 (next to be held NA December 1992);
results - KMT 65%, DPP 33%, independents 2%;
seats - (304 total, 102 elected) KMT 78, DPP 21, independents 3

Elections

National Assembly: first National Assembly elected in November 1947 with a supplementary election in December 1986; second National Assembly elected in December 1991

Member of

expelled from UN General Assembly and Security Council on 25 October 1971 and withdrew on same date from other charter-designated subsidiary organs;
expelled from IMF/World Bank group April/May 1980;
seeking to join GATT;
attempting to retain membership in INTELSAT;
suspended from IAEA in 1972, but still allows IAEA controls over extensive atomic development;
APEC, AsDB, ICC, ICFTU, IOC

none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through a private instrumentality, the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CCNAA) with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 10 other US cities with all addresses and telephone numbers NA; US: 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, Hsiu Yi Road, Section 3, telephone [886] (2) 709-2000, and in Kao-hsiung at #2 Chung Cheng 3d Road, telephone [886] (7) 224-0154 through 0157, 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

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.

16 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

4.1%

(1990); 3.8% (1991 est.)

Unemployment rate

1.7%

(1990); 1.5% (1991 est.)

External debt

$1.1billion

(December 1990 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$30.3 billionExpenditures

$30.1 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)

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 GNP has averaged about 9% a year during the past three decades. Export growth has been even faster and has provided the impetus for industrialization.

Agriculture contributes about 4% to GNP, 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, and Malaysia. The tightening of labor markets has led to an influx of foreign workers, both legal and illegal.

GNP

purchasing power equivalent - $150.8 billion, per capita $7,380; real growth rate 5.2% (1990)

Exports

$67.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990)

commodities:: electrical machinery 18.2%, textiles 15.6%, general machinery and equipment 14.8%, basic metals and metal products 7.8%, foodstuffs 1.7%, plywood and wood products 1.6% (1989)
partners:: US 36.2%, Japan 13.7% (1989)

Imports

$54.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990)

commodities:: machinery and equipment 15.3%, basic metals 13.0%, chemical and chemical products 11.1%, crude oil 5%, foodstuffs 2.2% (1989)
partners:: Japan 31%, US 23%, FRG 5% (1989)

Industrial production

growth rate 6.5% (1991 est.)

Electricity

17,000,000 kW capacity; 76,900 million kWh produced, 3,722 kWh per capita (1991)

Industries

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

Agriculture

accounts for 4% of GNP and 16% of labor force (includes part-time farmers);
heavily subsidized sector;
major crops - vegetables, rice, fruit, tea;
livestock - hogs, poultry, beef, milk, cattle;
not self-sufficient in wheat, soybeans, corn;
fish catch increasing, 1.4 million metric tons (1988)

Economic aid

US, including Ex-Im (FY46-82), $4.6 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $500 million

Currency

New Taiwan dollar (plural - dollars); 1 New Taiwan dollar (NT$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates

New Taiwan dollars per US$1 - 25.000 (February 1992), 25.748 (1991), 27.108 (1990), 26.407 (1989) 28.589 (1988), 31.845 (1987)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

Communications

7 fields

Merchant marine, 213 ships by type

passenger 1cargo 42refrigerated cargo 15container 73petroleum tanker 17combination ore/oil 3specialized tanker 1bulk 58roll-on/roll-off 1combination bulk 2213 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,491,539 GRT/9,082,118 DWT

Airports, 40 total, 39 usable

permanent-surface runways

36runways over | 3,659 m

3runways 2,440-3,659 m

16runways 1,220-2,439 m

Railroads

about 4,600 km total track with 1,075 km common carrier lines and 3,525 km industrial lines;
common carrier lines consist of the 1.067-meter gauge 708 km West Line and the 367 km East Line;
a 98.25 km South Link Line connection was completed in late 1991;
common carrier lines owned by the government and operated by the Railway Administration under Ministry of Communications;
industrial lines owned and operated by government enterprises

Highways

20,041 km total; 17,095 km bituminous or concrete pavement, 2,371 km crushed stone or gravel, 575 km graded earth

Pipelines

petroleum products 615 km, natural gas 97 km

Ports

Kao-hsiung, Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Su-ao, T'ai-tung

Telecommunications

best developed system in Asia outside of Japan;
7,800,000 telephones;
extensive microwave transmission links on east and west coasts;
broadcast stations - 91 AM, 23 FM, 15 TV (13 repeaters);
8,620,000 radios;
6,386,000 TVs (5,680,000 color, 706,000 monochrome);
satellite earth stations - 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT;
submarine cable links to Japan (Okinawa), the Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe