Taiwan (2007) | Tokelau (2004) | |
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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 (chuan-shih, singular and plural)
note: Taiwan uses a variety of romanization systems; while the Wade-Giles system still dominates, city of Taipei has adopted standard Pinyin romanization for street and place names within its boundaries; other local authorities use different romanization systems; names for administrative divisions that follow are in Wade-Giles system with Pinyin equivalents in parentheses counties: Chang-hua (Changhua), Chia-i (Chiayi) [county], Hsin-chu (Hsinchu), Hua-lien (Hualien), I-lan (Yilan), Kao-hsiung (Kaohsiung) [county], Kin-men (Kinmen), Lien-chiang (Lienchiang, also Matsu), Miao-li (Miaoli), Nan-t'ou (Nantou), P'eng-hu (Penghu), P'ing-tung (Pingtung), T'ai-chung (Taichung), T'ai-nan (Tainan), T'ai-pei (Taipei) [county], T'ai-tung (Taitung), T'ao-yuan (Taoyuan), and Yun-lin (Yunlin) municipalities: Chia-i (Chiayi) [city], Chi-lung (Keelung), Hsin-chu (Hsinchu), T'ai-chung (Taichung), T'ai-nan (Tainan) special municipalities: Kao-hsiung (Kaohsiung) [city], T'ai-pei (Taipei) [city] |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.8% (male 2,117,051/female 1,954,709)
15-64 years: 72% (male 8,306,351/female 8,141,268) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 1,150,001/female 1,189,492) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 41 (2007) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 38
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 35,980 sq km
land: 32,260 sq km water: 3,720 sq km note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy islands |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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 1946 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 eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 8.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $73.1 billion
expenditures: $72.44 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | name: Taipei
geographic coordinates: 25 03 N, 121 30 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
Climate | tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 1,566.3 km | 101 km |
Constitution | 25 December 1947; amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005
note: constitution adopted on 25 December 1946; went into effect on 25 December 1947 |
administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Taiwan local long form: none local short form: T'ai-wan former: Formosa |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $91.92 billion (2006 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2162-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2162-2251; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 238-7744, FAX: [886] (7) 238-5237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162 | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), which has its headquarters in Taipei and in the US in Washington, DC; there are also branch offices called Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in 12 other US cities | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
Economy - overview | Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large, government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The island runs a trade surplus, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Despite restrictions on cross-strait links, China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market and, in 2006, its second-largest source of imports after Japan. China is also the island's number one destination for foreign direct investment. Strong trade performance in 2006 pushed Taiwan's GDP growth rate above 4%, and unemployment is below 4%. Consumer spending recovered following a slowdown early in 2006, when banks tightened lending to address a sharp increase in delinquent consumer debt. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 201.6 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 210.3 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - 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 | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status |
- |
Ethnic groups | Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, indigenous 2% | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | new Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 32.534 (2006), 31.71 (2005), 34.418 (2004), 34.575 (2003), 33.8 (2002) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000); Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000)
head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) CHANG Chun-hsiung (since 21 May 2007); Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) CHIOU I-jen (since 21 May 2007) cabinet: Executive Yuan - (ministers appointed by president on recommendation of premier) elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 20 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier election results: CHEN Shui-bian re-elected president; percent of vote - CHEN Shui-bian 50.1%, LIEN Chan 49.9% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since NA 2002)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Kuresa NASAU (since 2004) note - position rotates annually among members of the cabinet cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | computer products and electrical equipment, metals, textiles, plastics and rubber products, chemicals (2002) | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | China 22.5%, Hong Kong 15.7%, US 15%, Japan 7.3% (2006 est.) | New Zealand (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 26.8% services: 71.7% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2006 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 23 30 N, 121 00 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Heliports | 4 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 6.7%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2002 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | 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 | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment 44.5%, minerals, precision instruments (2002) | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | Japan 23%, China 11.9%, US 10.9%, South Korea 7.2%, Saudi Arabia 4.9% (2006 est.) | New Zealand (2000) |
Independence | - | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.5% (2006 est.) | NA |
Industries | electronics, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.54 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.6% (2006 est.) | NA |
International organization participation | APEC, AsDB, ICC, ICRM, IOC, ITUC, WCL, WHO (observer), WTO | UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan) | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 10.52 million (2006 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 36% services: 58.5% (2005 est.) |
- |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 1% other: 75% (2001) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | New Zealand and local statutes |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Yuan (225 seats; 168 members elected by popular vote, 41 elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected from overseas Chinese constituencies on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; to serve three-year terms)
note: as a result of constitutional amendments approved by the now defunct National Assembly in June 2005, number of seats in legislature will be reduced from 225 to 113 beginning with election in 2007; amendments also eliminated National Assembly thus giving Taiwan a unicameral legislature elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 11 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2007) election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - DPP 38%, KMT 35%, PFP 15%, TSU 8%, other parties and independents 4%; seats by party - DPP 89, KMT 79, PFP 34, TSU 12, other parties 7, independents 4 |
unicameral General Fono (48 seats; 15 members from each of the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the 3 island village mayors [pulenuku]); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.56 years
male: 74.65 years female: 80.74 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1% male: NA% female: NA% (2003) |
NA |
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 | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 102 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,537,256 GRT/4,203,423 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 20, chemical tanker 2, container 21, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Canada 3, France 1) registered in other countries: 489 (Bahamas 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 1, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Italy 11, Liberia 82, Panama 306, Singapore 60, Thailand 1, UK 11, unknown 3) (2007) |
none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (2006; to increase to 2.85% in 2007) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Taiwan (singular and plural)
note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan adjective: Taiwan |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | earthquakes and typhoons | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Pipelines | condensate 25 km; gas 661 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [CHEN Shui-bian]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [WU Po-hsiung]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [HUANG Kun-hui]; other minor parties including the Chinese New Party or NP | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's legislature have opened public debate on the island's national identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that the island currently enjoys sovereign independence and - whatever the ultimate outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's people must have the deciding voice; public opinion polls consistently show a substantial majority of Taiwan people supports maintaining Taiwan's status quo for the foreseeable future; advocates of Taiwan independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for Taiwan Nation Building |
none |
Population | 22,858,872 (July 2007 est.) | 1,405 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 0.9% (2006 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.304% (2007 est.) | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
Railways | total: 2,502 km
narrow gauge: 1,102 km 1.067-m gauge (685 km electrified) note: 1,400 km .762-m gauge (belonging to the Taiwan Sugar Corporation and to the Taiwan Forestry Bureau) used to carry products and limited numbers of passengers (2006) |
- |
Religions | mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.083 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.967 male(s)/female total population: 1.026 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: provides telecommunications service for every business and private need
domestic: thoroughly modern; completely digitalized international: country code - 886; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); submarine cables to Japan (Okinawa), Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe (1999) |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 14.497 million (2006) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 23.249 million (2006) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 29 (plus 2 repeaters) (1997) | - |
Terrain | eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 3.9% (2006 est.) | NA |