Taiwan

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

agricultural land:

22.7%;

• arable land 16.9%;
• permanent crops 5.8%;
• permanent pasture NA

forest:

NA

other:

77.3% (2011 est.)

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

noun:

Taiwan (singular and plural)

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

adjective:

Taiwan (or Taiwanese)

• TAIPEI (capital) 2.666 million;
• Kaohsiung 1.523 million;
• Taichung 1.225 million;
• Tainan 815,000 (2015)

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Taiwan

local long form:

none

local short form:

Taiwan

former:

Formosa

name:

Taipei

geographic coordinates:

25 02 N, 121 31 E

time difference:

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

• previous 1912, 1931;
• latest adopted 25 December 1946, promulgated 1 January 1947, effective 25 December 1947;
• revised several times, last in 2005 (2013)

chief of state:

President MA Ying-jeou (since 20 May 2008); Vice President WU Den-yih (since 20 May 2012)

head of government:

• Premier MAO Chi-kuo (President of the Executive Yuan) (since 8 December 2014);
• Vice Premier CHANG San-cheng, Vice President of the Executive Yuan (since 8 December 2014)

cabinet:

Executive Yuan - ministers appointed by president on recommendation of premier

elections/appointments:

• 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);
• election last held on 14 January 2012 (next to be held in January 2016);
• premier appointed by the president;
• vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier

election results:

MA Ying-jeou elected president; percent of vote - MA Ying-jeou (KMT) 51.6%, TSAI Ing-wen (DPP) 45.6%, James SOONG Chu-ye (PFP) 2.8%

description:

unicameral Legislative Yuan (113 seats; 73 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 34 directly elected in a single islandwide constituency by proportional representation vote, and 6 directly elected in multi-seat aboriginal constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

Legislative Yuan - last held on 14 January 2012 (next to be held in January 2016)

election results:

• Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - KMT 44.6%, DPP 34.6%, TSU 9.0%, PFP 5.5%, others 6.3%;
• seats by party - KMT 64, DPP 40, PFP 3, TSU 3, NPSU 2, independent 1

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and approximately 100 judges organized into 8 civil and 12 criminal divisions, each with a division 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 by the president;
• Constitutional Court justices appointed by the president with approval of the Legislative Yuan;
• Supreme Court justices appointed for life;
• Constitutional Court justices appointed 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 [TSAI Ing-wen]
• Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [Eric Chu Li-lun]
• New Party [YOK Mu-ming]
• Non-Partisan Solidarity Union or NPSU [LIN Pin-kuan]
• People First Party or PFP [James SOONG Chu-ye]
• Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [HUANG Kun-huei]

• red field with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays;
• the blue and white design of the canton (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates to 1895;
• it was later adopted as the flag of the Kuomintang Party;
• blue signifies liberty, justice, and democracy;
• red stands for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism, white represents equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood;
• the 12 rays of the sun are those of the months and the twelve traditional Chinese hours (each ray equals two hours)

• rice, vegetables, fruit, tea, flowers;
• pigs, poultry;
• fish

agriculture:

5%

industry:

36.1%

services:

58.9% (2014 est.)

lowest 10%:

6.4%

highest 10%:

40.3% (2010)

general assessment:

provides telecommunications service for every business and private need

domestic:

thoroughly modern; completely digitalized

international:

• country code - 886;
• roughly 15 submarine fiber cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US;
• satellite earth stations - 2 (2011)

• 5 nationwide television networks operating roughly 75 TV stations;
• about 85% of households utilize multi-channel cable TV;
• national and regional radio networks with about 170 radio stations (2008)

total:

1,597 km

standard gauge:

345 km 1.435-m gauge (345 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

1,102 km 1.067-m gauge (692 km electrified); 150 km 0.762-m gauge

note: the 0.762-gauge track belongs to three entities: the Forestry Bureau, Taiwan Cement, and TaiPower (2014)

country comparison to the world: 79

total:

42,520 km

paved:

42,078 km (includes 1,348 km of highways and 737 km of expressways)

unpaved:

442 km (2013)

country comparison to the world: 85

major seaport(s):

Chilung (Keelung), Kaohsiung, Hualian, Taichung

container port(s) (TEUs):

Chilung (Keelung) (1,749,388), Kaohsiung (9,363,289), Taichung (1,383,578)

LNG terminal (import):

Yung An (Kaohsiung), Taichung

• 18-35 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
• 1-year service obligation;
• women may enlist;
• women in Air Force service are restricted to noncombat roles;
• reserve obligation to age 36 (Army);
• the Ministry of Defense is in the process of implementing a voluntary enlistment system over the period 2010-2015, although nonvolunteers will still be required to perform alternative service or go through 4 months of military training (2012)

males age 16-49:

6,183,567

females age 16-49:

6,006,676 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

5,074,173

females age 16-49:

4,951,088 (2010 est.)

male:

166,190

female:

155,306 (2010 est.)

• involved in complex dispute with Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam over the Spratly Islands, and with China and the Philippines over Scarborough Reef;
• the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants;
• Paracel Islands are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam;
• in 2003, China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting

• regional transit point for heroin, methamphetamine, and precursor chemicals;
• transshipment point for drugs to Japan;
• major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin;
• rising problems with use of ketamine and club drugs