Compare Taiwan (2008) - Kiribati (2002)

Compare Taiwan (2008) z Kiribati (2002)

	Taiwan (2008)	Kiribati (2002)

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 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; names for administrative divisions that follow are taken from the Taiwan Yearbook 2007 published by the Government Information Office in Taipei. counties: Changhua, Chiayi [county], Hsinchu, Hualien, Kaohsiung [county], Kinmen, Lienchiang, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei [county], Taitung, Taoyuan, Yilan, and Yunlin municipalities: Chiayi [city], Hsinchu, Keelung, Taichung, Tainan special municipalities: Kaohsiung [city], Taipei [city]	3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina)
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: 40.2% (male 19,588; female 19,092) 15-64 years: 56.6% (male 26,905; female 27,625) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 1,339; female 1,786) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish	copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish
Airports	41 (2007)	21 (2001)
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)	total: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2002)
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: 811 sq km land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined	four times the size of 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.	The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.
Birth rate	8.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	31.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $49 billion expenditures: $5.19 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $28.4 million expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) (2000 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)	Tarawa
Climate	tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year	tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	1,566.3 km	1,143 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	12 July 1979
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: Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands
Currency	-	Australian dollar (AUD)
Death rate	6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$85.8 billion (31 December 2007)	$10 million (1999 est.)
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	the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati
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	Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu
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	-	$15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan
Economy - overview	Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by the authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large, state-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The island runs a large trade surplus, and its foreign reserves are among the world's largest. Despite restrictions on cross-strait links, China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market and 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 2007 pushed Taiwan's GDP growth rate above 5%, and unemployment is below 4%.	A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid, from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China, is a critical supplement to GDP, equal to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year.
Electricity - consumption	221 billion kWh (2006)	6.51 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2007 est.)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2007)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production	235 billion kWh (2006)	7 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)
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 on Banaba 81 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	heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk
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	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, indigenous 2%	predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian
Exchange rates	New Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 32.84 (2007), 32.534 (2006), 31.71 (2005), 34.418 (2004), 34.575 (2003)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997)
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 22 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: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among their members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held by November 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Teburoro TITO reelected president; percent of vote - Teburoro TITO 50.4%, Taberannang TIMEON 48.4%, Bakeua Bakeua TEKITA 1.2%
Exports	289,200 bbl/day (2006)	$6 million f.o.b. (1998)
Exports - commodities	electronic and electrical products, metals, textiles, plastics, chemicals, auto parts (2002)	copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish
Exports - partners	China 24%, Hong Kong 15%, US 13.4%, Japan 6.7% (2007)	Japan, Bangladesh, US, Australia, Brazil, Poland (2000)
Fiscal year	calendar year	NA
Flag description	red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays	the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $79 million (2001 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.6% industry: 26.8% services: 71.5% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 30% industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.5% (2007 est.)	1.5% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	23 30 N, 121 00 E	1 25 N, 173 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait	21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru
Heliports	4 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 670 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: 27 km are paved in South Tarawa (2001)
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	1.208 million bbl/day (2006)	$44 million c.i.f. (1999)
Imports - commodities	electronic and electrical products, machinery, petroleum, precision instruments, organic chemicals, metals (2002)	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel
Imports - partners	Japan 21%, China 12.7%, US 12.2%, South Korea 7.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.6% (2007)	Australia, Japan, Fiji, Poland, US (2000)
Independence	-	12 July 1979 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	7.5% (2007 est.)	0.7% (1991 est.)
Industries	electronics, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals	fishing, handicrafts
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.)	52.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.8% (2007 est.)	2.5% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	ADB, APEC, BCIE, ICC, IOC, ITUC, WCL, WTO	ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	NA	NA sq km
Judicial branch	Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan)	Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president
Labor force	10.78 million (2007 est.)	7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 5.3% industry: 36.8% services: 57.9% (2007 est.)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 24% permanent crops: 1% other: 75% (2001)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 50.68% other: 49.32% (1998 est.)
Languages	Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects	I-Kiribati, English (official)
Legal system	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	NA
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Yuan (113 seats - 73 district members elected by popular vote, 34 at-large members elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 6 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; to serve four-year terms); parties must receive 5% of vote to qualify for at-large seats elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 12 January 2008 (next to be held in January 2012) election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - KMT 53.5%, DPP 38.2%, NPSU 2.4%, PFP 0.3%, others 1.6%, independents 4%; seats by party - KMT 81, DPP 27, NPSU 3, PFP 1, independent 1	unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms) elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.56 years male: 74.65 years female: 80.74 years (2007 est.)	total population: 60.54 years male: 57.61 years female: 63.62 years (2002 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.1% male: NA% female: NA% (2003)	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: 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 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line
Map references	Southeast Asia	Oceania
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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)	total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Military - note	-	Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ
Military branches	Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command	no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.2% (2006; to increase to 2.85% in 2007)	NA%
National holiday	Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911)	Independence Day, 12 July (1979)
Nationality	noun: Taiwan (singular and plural) note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan adjective: Taiwan	noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati
Natural hazards	earthquakes and typhoons	typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level
Natural resources	small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos	phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Net migration rate	0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines	condensate 25 km; gas 661 km (2007)	-
Political parties and leaders	Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Frank HSIEH or HSIEH Chang-ting] (acting); Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [WU Po-hsiung]; Non-Partisan Solidarity Union or NPSU [CHANG Po-ya]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG]	Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG] note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures
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	NA
Population	22,858,872 (July 2007 est.)	96,335 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	0.95% (2007 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	0.304% (2007 est.)	2.28% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton
Radio broadcast stations	AM 140, FM 229, shortwave 49	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002)
Radios	-	17,000 (1997)
Railways	total: 1,588 km standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,093 km 1.067-m gauge note: 150 km .762-m gauge (belonging primarily to Taiwan Sugar Corporation and Taiwan Forestry Bureau; some to other entities) (2007)	0 km
Religions	mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%	Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999)
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.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage	20 years of age; universal	18 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; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; 2 satellite earth stations	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service
Telephones - main lines in use	14.497 million (2006)	3,800 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular	23.249 million (2006)	NA
Television broadcast stations	76 (46 digital and 30 analog)	1 (not reported to be active) (2002)
Terrain	eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west	mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Total fertility rate	1.12 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.32 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.9% (2007)	2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)
Waterways	-	5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands)

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