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:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 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 (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Taiwan

local long form:

none

local short form:

Taiwan

former:

Formosa

etymology:

• "Tayowan" was the name of the coastal sandbank where the Dutch erected their colonial headquarters on the island in the 17th century;
• the former name "Formosa" means "beautiful" in Portuguese

name:

Taipei

geographic coordinates:

25 02 N, 121 31 E

time difference:

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

• 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; while a modified Wade-Giles system still dominates, the city of Taipei has adopted a Pinyin romanization for street and place names within its boundaries; other local authorities use different romanization systems

• previous 1912, 1931;
• latest adopted 25 December 1946, promulgated 1 January 1947, effective 25 December 1947;
• amended/revised several times, last in 2005 (2016)

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

• 20 years of age;
• universal;
• note - in mid-2016, the Legislaitve Yuan drafted a constitutional amendment to reduce the voting age to 18

chief of state:

President TSAI Ing-wen (since 20 May 2016); Vice President CHEN Chien-jen (since 20 May 2016)

head of government:

• Premier LAI Ching-te (President of the Executive Yuan) (since 8 September 2017);
• Vice Premier LIN Hsi-yao, Vice President of the Executive Yuan (since 20 May 2016)

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 16 January 2016 (next to be held in 2020);
• premier appointed by the president;
• vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier

election results:

• TSAI Ing-wen elected president;
• percent of vote - TSAI Ing-wen (DPP) 56.1%, Eric CHU Li-lun (KMT) 31.0%, James SOONG Chu-yu (PFP) 12.8%;
• note - TSAI is the first woman elected president of Taiwan

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) [WU Den-yih]
• New Power Party or NPP [HUANG Kuo-chang]
• Non-Partisan Solidarity Union or NPSU [LIN Pin-kuan]
• People First Party or PFP [James SOONG Chu-yu]

• none;
• 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;
• Director Kin W. MOY (since June 2015)

telephone:

[1] [886] (02) 2162-2000

FAX:

[1] [886] (02) 2162-2251

other offices:

Kaohsiung (Branch Office)

• 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)

note: similar to the flag of Samoa

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

agriculture:

4.9%

industry:

35.9%

services:

59.2% (2016 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 (2016)

• 5 nationwide television networks operating roughly 75 TV stations;
• about 60% of households utilize multi-channel cable TV;
• national and regional radio networks with about 170 radio stations (2016)

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):

Keelung (Chi-lung), Kaohsiung, Hualian, Taichung

container port(s) (TEUs):

Keelung (Chi-lung) (2,666,000), Kaohsiung (10,264,000), Taichung (1,447,000) (2015)

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Yung An (Kaohsiung), Taichung

• starting with those born in 1994, males 18-36 years of age may volunteer for military service or must complete 4 months of compulsory military training (or substitute civil service in some cases);
• women may enlist;
• women in Air Force service are restricted to noncombat roles;
• for men born before December 1993, compulsory service (military or civil) is 1 year;
• for 8 years after discharge, men are subject to training recall four times for periods not to exceed 20 days (2016)

• 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