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Compare World (2004) - Taiwan (2005)

Compare World (2004) z Taiwan (2005)

 World (2004)Taiwan (2005)
 WorldTaiwan
Administrative divisions 271 nations, dependent areas, and other entities includes central island of Taiwan plus numerous smaller islands near central island 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)

counties: Chang-hua, Chia-i, Hsin-chu, Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung county, Kin-men, Lien-chiang, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan, T'ai-pei county, T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin

municipalities: Chia-i, Chi-lung, Hsin-chu, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan

special municipalities: Kao-hsiung city, T'ai-pei city


note: Taiwan generally uses Wade-Giles system for romanization; special municipality of Taipei adopted standard pinyin romanization for street and place names within city boundaries, other local authorities have selected a variety of romanization systems
Age structure 0-14 years: 28.2% (male 925,276,767; female 875,567,830)


15-64 years: 64.5% (male 2,083,789,165; female 2,033,226,759)


65 years and over: 7.2% (male 203,286,504; female 257,705,851)


note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and the total for world age structure (2004 est.)
0-14 years: 19.7% (male 2,349,077/female 2,156,755)


15-64 years: 70.7% (male 8,205,933/female 7,980,056)


65 years and over: 9.6% (male 1,107,708/female 1,094,855) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products - rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish
Airports - 40 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways - total: 37


over 3,047 m: 8


2,438 to 3,047 m: 8


1,524 to 2,437 m: 12


914 to 1,523 m: 8


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Area total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
total: 35,980 sq km


land: 32,260 sq km


water: 3,720 sq km


note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy
Area - comparative land area about 16 times the size of the US slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined
Background Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). 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 native 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.
Birth rate 20.24 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 12.64 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget - revenues: $67.41 billion


expenditures: $76.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.4 billion (2004 est.)
Capital - Taipei
Climate two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year
Coastline 356,000 km


note: 98 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bassas da India, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Juan de Nova Island, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Isle of Man, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tromelin Island, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan
1,566.3 km
Constitution - 25 December 1946; amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, and 2000
Country name - conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Taiwan


local long form: none


local short form: T'ai-wan


former: Formosa
Death rate 8.86 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 6.38 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $2 trillion for less developed countries (2002 est.) $55.5 billion (2004 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, Kao-hsiung, 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) in the US with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12 other US cities
Disputes - international stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 325 international land boundaries separate the 192 independent states and 72 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment of political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and territorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land; nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource disputes peacefully; regional discord directly affects the sustenance and welfare of local populations, often leaving the world community to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, deforestation, and desertification 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
Economic aid - recipient official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion -
Economy - overview Global output rose by 3.7% in 2003, led by China (9.1%), India (7.6%), and Russia (7.3%). The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 5%-7% range of growth. Growth results posted by the major industrial countries varied from a loss by Germany (-0.1%) to a strong gain by the United States (3.1%). The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decision-making powers to international bodies. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continue into 2004. 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 trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Agriculture contributes less than 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia. China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global economic downturn, combined with problems in policy coordination by the administration and bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first year of negative growth ever recorded. Unemployment also reached record levels. Output recovered moderately in 2002 in the face of continued global slowdown, fragile consumer confidence, and bad bank loans; and the essentially vibrant economy pushed ahead in 2003-04. Growing economic ties with China are a dominant long-term factor, e.g., exports to China of parts and equipment for the assembly of goods for export to developed countries.
Electricity - consumption 13.94 trillion kWh (2001 est.) 147.4 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports - 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports - 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 14.93 trillion kWh (2001 est.) 158.5 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m


highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m
Environment - current issues large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal
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%, aborigine 2%
Exchange rates - new Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 33.422 (2004), 34.418 (2003), 34.575 (2002), 33.8 (2001), 33.09 (2000)
Executive branch - chief of state: President CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000) and Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000)


head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) Frank HSIEH (since 1 February 2005) and Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) - WU Rong-i) (since 18 February 2005)


cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by the president


elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; 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 (DPP) 50.1%, LIEN Chan (KMT) 49.9%
Exports 712 billion cu m (2001 est.) NA
Exports - commodities the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services computer products and electrical equipment, metals, textiles, plastics and rubber products, chemicals (2002)
Exports - partners US 16.4%, Germany 7.9%, UK 5.2%, France 5.1%, China 5%, Japan 4.6% (2003) China, including Hong Kong 37%, US 16%, Japan 7.7% (2004)
Fiscal year - 1 July - 30 June (up to FY98/99); 1 July 1999 - 31 December 2000 for FY00; calendar year (after FY00)
Flag description - red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays
GDP GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $51.48 trillion (2003 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 1.7%


industry: 30.9%


services: 67.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $25,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 3.8% (2003 est.) 6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates - 23 30 N, 121 00 E
Geography - note the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait
Heliports - 3 (2004 est.)
Highways total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
total: 37,299 km


paved: 35,621 km (including 608 km of expressways)


unpaved: 1,678 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: 6.7%


highest 10%: 41.1% (2002 est.)
Illicit drugs cocaine: worldwide, coca is grown on an estimated 173,450 hectares-almost exclusively in South America with 70% in Colombia; potential cocaine production during 2003 is estimated at 728 metric tons (or 835 metric tons of export quality cocaine); coca eradication programs continue in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru; 376 metric tons of export quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2003, and 26 metric tons disrupted (jettisoned or destroyed); consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 800 metric tons


opiates: cultivation of opium poppy occurred on an estimated 137,944 hectares in 2003-mostly in Southwest and Southeast Asia-with 44% in Afghanistan, potentially produced 3,775 metric tons of opium - which conceivably could be converted to the equivalent of 429 metric tons of pure heroin; opium eradication programs have been undertaken in Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam
regional transit point for heroin and methamphetamine; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin; renewal of domestic methamphetamine production is a problem
Imports 697.5 billion cu m (2001 est.) NA
Imports - commodities the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services machinery and electrical equipment 44.5%, minerals, precision instruments (2002)
Imports - partners US 9.9%, Germany 9.4%, China 7.9%, Japan 6.7%, France 4.7% (2003) Japan 26%, US 13%, China, including Hong Kong 11%, South Korea 6.9% (2004)
Industrial production growth rate 3% (2002 est.) 12.2% (2004 est.)
Industries dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems electronics, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals
Infant mortality rate total: 50.31 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 52.17 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 48.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
total: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 5.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries (2003 est.) 1.7% (2004 est.)
International organization participation - APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, ICFTU, IOC, WCL, WTO
Irrigated land 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.) NA sq km
Judicial branch - Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan)
Labor force NA 10.22 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA agriculture 8%, industry 35%, services 57% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries


note: 43 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
0 km
Land use arable land: 10.73%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 88.27% (2001)
arable land: 24%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 75% (2001)
Languages Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
Legal system all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch - unicameral Legislative Yuan (225 seats - 168 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 island-wide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; members serve three-year terms) and unicameral National Assembly (300 seat nonstanding body; delegates nominated by parties and elected by proportional representation six to nine months after Legislative Yuan calls to amend Constitution, impeach president, or change national borders)


note: as a result of constitutional amendments approved by the National Assembly on 7 June 2005, the number of seats in the legislature will be reduced from 225 to 113 beginning with the election in 2007; the amendments also eliminate the National Assembly, thus giving Taiwan a unicameral legislature


elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 11 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2007); National Assembly - last held 14 May 2005


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; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - DPP 42.5%, KMT 38.9%, TSU 7%, PFP 6%, others 6.6%; seats by party - DPP 127, KMT 117, TSU 21, PFP 18, others 17 (2005)
Life expectancy at birth total population: 64.05 years


male: 62.48 years


female: 65.7 years (2004 est.)
total population: 77.26 years


male: 74.49 years


female: 80.28 years (2005 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 77%


male: 83%


female: 71% (1995 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 96.1% (2003)
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
Map references Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World Southeast Asia
Maritime claims a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine - total: 126 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,417,768 GRT/5,617,318 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 36, cargo 23, chemical tanker 2, container 37, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 1


foreign-owned: 3 (Hong Kong 3)


registered in other countries: 432 (2005)
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 aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) $7.574 billion (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) 2.6% (2004)
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
Natural hazards large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) earthquakes and typhoons
Natural resources the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos
Net migration rate - 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines - condensate 25 km; gas 435 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders - Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [SU Tseng-chang, chairman]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [MA Ying-jeou, chairman]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG (SOONG Chu-yu), chairman]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [SU Chin-chiang, chairman]; other minor parties including the Chinese New Party or CNP
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 Taiwan currently enjoys de facto independence and - whatever the ultimate outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's people must have the deciding voice; 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 6,379,157,361 (July 2004 est.) 22,894,384 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line - 1% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate 1.14% (2004 est.) 0.63% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Kao-hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung
Radio broadcast stations AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999)
Railways total: 1,115,205 km


broad gauge: 257,481 km


standard gauge: 671,413 km


narrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003)
total: 2,497 km


narrow gauge: 1,097 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 haul products and limited numbers of passengers (2004)
Religions Christians 32.71% (of which Roman Catholics 17.28%, Protestants 5.61%, Orthodox 3.49%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.67%, Hindus 13.28%, Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.23%, other religions 13.05%, non-religious 12.43%, atheists 2.41% (2002 est.) mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female


total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage - 20 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
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)
Telephones - main lines in use 843,923,500 (2003) 13.355 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 25,089,600 (2003)
Television broadcast stations NA 29 (plus two repeaters) (1997)
Terrain the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west
Total fertility rate 2.62 children born/woman (2004 est.) 1.57 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment 4.5% (2004 est.)
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