Compare Taiwan (2008) - West Bank (2006)

Compare Taiwan (2008) z West Bank (2006)

	Taiwan (2008)	West Bank (2006)

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]	-
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: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202) 15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish	olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Airports	41 (2007)	3 (2006)
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: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
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: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined	slightly smaller than Delaware
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 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provided that Israel would retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifada that broke out in September 2000. In April 2003 the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004 and Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA President in January 2005, bringing hope of a turning point in the conflict. Israel and the PA agreed in February 2005 to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security issues, in an effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has been slow because of different interpretations of the verbal agreement by the two sides.
Birth rate	8.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $49 billion expenditures: $5.19 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $964 million expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2004)
Capital	name: Taipei geographic coordinates: 25 03 N, 121 30 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	-
Climate	tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year	temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline	1,566.3 km	0 km (landlocked)
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	-
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: West Bank
Death rate	6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$85.8 billion (31 December 2007)	$0; note - includes Gaza Strip (2002)
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	-
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	-
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	West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
Economic aid - recipient	-	$1.14 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004 est.)
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%.	The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities, due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally, stymied growth.
Electricity - consumption	221 billion kWh (2006)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2007 est.)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2007)	NA kWh
Electricity - production	235 billion kWh (2006)	NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
Elevation extremes	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 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	adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
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%	Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Exchange rates	New Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 32.84 (2007), 32.534 (2006), 31.71 (2005), 34.418 (2004), 34.575 (2003)	new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001)
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%	-
Exports	289,200 bbl/day (2006)	$270 million f.o.b.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Exports - commodities	electronic and electrical products, metals, textiles, plastics, chemicals, auto parts (2002)	olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners	China 24%, Hong Kong 15%, US 13.4%, Japan 6.7% (2007)	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.6% industry: 26.8% services: 71.5% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.5% (2007 est.)	6.2% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	23 30 N, 121 00 E	32 00 N, 35 15 E
Geography - note	strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait	landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.)
Heliports	4 (2007)	-
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)	$1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Imports - commodities	electronic and electrical products, machinery, petroleum, precision instruments, organic chemicals, metals (2002)	food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners	Japan 21%, China 12.7%, US 12.2%, South Korea 7.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.6% (2007)	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)
Industrial production growth rate	7.5% (2007 est.)	NA%
Industries	electronics, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals	generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
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: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.8% (2007 est.)	7% (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ADB, APEC, BCIE, ICC, IOC, ITUC, WCL, WTO	-
Irrigated land	NA	150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Judicial branch	Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan)	-
Labor force	10.78 million (2007 est.)	614,000 (April-June 2005)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 5.3% industry: 36.8% services: 57.9% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 18.4% industry: 24% services: 57.6% (April-June 2005)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use	arable land: 24% permanent crops: 1% other: 75% (2001)	arable land: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)
Languages	Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects	Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Legal system	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	-
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	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.56 years male: 74.65 years female: 80.74 years (2007 est.)	total population: 73.27 years male: 71.5 years female: 75.15 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.1% male: NA% female: NA% (2003)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.)
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	Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references	Southeast Asia	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
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)	-
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 - 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)	-
Nationality	noun: Taiwan (singular and plural) note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan adjective: Taiwan	noun: NA adjective: NA
Natural hazards	earthquakes and typhoons	droughts
Natural resources	small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos	arable land
Net migration rate	0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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]	-
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	-
Population	22,858,872 (July 2007 est.)	2,460,492 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	0.95% (2007 est.)	46% including Gaza Strip (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	0.304% (2007 est.)	3.06% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 140, FM 229, shortwave 49	AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005)
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)	-
Religions	mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%	Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
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: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	20 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: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970
Telephones - main lines in use	14.497 million (2006)	357,300 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular	23.249 million (2006)	1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Television broadcast stations	76 (46 digital and 30 analog)	8 (2005)
Terrain	eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west	mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Total fertility rate	1.12 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.9% (2007)	19.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (January-September 2005)

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