Country Facts - Taiwan

The People

Nationality

Chinese (singular and plural)

Ethnic Composition

Taiwanese	84%
Mainland Chinese	14%
Aboriginal	2%

Religious Composition

Buddhist/Confucian/Taoist Philosophy	93%
Christian	4.5%
Other	2.5%

Languages Spoken

Mandarin (Kuo-yu), Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka, English, Japanese.

Education and Literacy

All children receive nine years of free and compulsory education. Currently 94 percent of the total population is considered literate.

Labor Force

Total: 9.8 million (2001)

By occupation:

Services	56%
Industry	36%
Agriculture	8%

Geography

Land Mass Total

13,891 sq mi (35,980 sq km)

Note: Includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy.

Land

12,455 sq mi (32,260 sq km)

Water

1,436 sq mi (

3,720 sq km)

Land Boundaries

0 mi (0 km), island

Coastline

973 mi (1,566.3 km)

Maritime claim

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year

Terrain

Eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west

Elevation extremes

Lowest: South China Sea 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Yu Shan 13,113 ft (3,997 m)

Natural Resources

Small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos

Land use

Arable land	24%
Permanent crops	1%
Other	75%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Earthquakes, typhoons

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.

Geography Note

Strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait

Demographics

Population

22,548,009 (July 2002

)

Age structure

0-14 years:	21%	Male: 2,464,290	Female: 2,268,627
15-64 years:	70%	Male: 8,010,014	Female: 7,774,296
65 years and over:	9%	Male: 1,053,975	Female: 976,807

(2002))

Growth Rate

0.78% (2002)

Life Expectancy

76.74 years (2002)
Female: 79.71 years
Male: 73.99 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$17,200 (2001)

Infant Mortality

6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.08 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.09 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	1.08 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.05 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

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. Real growth in GDP has averaged about 8 percent during the past three decades. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Agriculture contributes 2 percent to GDP, down from 35 percent in 1952. Traditional labor-intensive industries are steadily being moved offshore and replaced with more capital- and technology-intensive industries. Taiwan has become a major investor in China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam; 50,000 Taiwanese businesses are established in China. 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 1998-99. The global economic downturn, however, combined with poor policy coordination by the new administration and increasing bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first whole year of negative growth since 1947. Unemployment also reached a level (over 5 percent) not seen since the 1970s oil crisis. GDP growth was (by regional standards) a respectable 2.6 percent in 2002 with prospects of 3.4 percent in 2003 followed by a jump to 4.2 percent in 2004. Unfortunately, unemployment is expected to take another rise to over 5.5 percent by the end of 2003.

Unemployment

4.5% (2001)

Inflation Rate

0.5% (2001)

Industries

Electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing

Exports

US$122 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$109 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$386 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

U.S. 23.5%, Hong Kong 21.1%, Europe 16%, ASEAN 12.2%, Japan 11.2% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Japan 27.5%, US 17.9%, Europe 13.6%, South Korea 6.4% (2000)

Top Exports

Machinery and electrical equipment 55%, metals, textiles, plastics, chemicals

Top Imports

Machinery and electrical equipment 50%, minerals, precision instruments

Debt - external

US$40 billion (2000)

Economic aid

N/A

Fiscal Year:

July 1 to June 30 up to FY98/99; July 1, 1999 to December 31, 2000 for FY00; calendar year (after FY00)

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	9a.m. to 5:30p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 6p.m.	10a.m. to 10p.m.
Banks	9a.m. to 3:30p.m. without a lunch break.	Saturday 9a.m. to noon.
Government	8:30a.m. to 5:30p.m.	Saturday 8:30a.m. to noon.

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Second Day of New Year	January 2	January 2	January 2
Bank Holiday	January 3	January 3	January 3
Chinese New Year¹	February 1 to 3	January 22 to 24	February 9
Youth Day	March 29	March 29	March 29
Ching Ming Festival²	April 5	April 4	April 4
Dragon Boat Festival (Tuen Ng)³	June 4	June 22	June 11
Bank Holiday	July 1	July 1	July 1
Mid-Autumn Festival*¹	September 12	September 29	September 18
Birthday of Confucius, Teacher's Day	September 28	September 28	September 28
National Day	October 10	October 10	October 10
Taiwan Retrocession Day	October 25	October 25	October 25
Chiang Kai-Shek's Birthday	October 31	October 31	October 31
Birthday of Dr. Sun Yat Sen	November 12	November 12	November 12

¹	Celebrations denoting the beginning of the New Year based on the exact astronomical observations of the longitude of the sun and phases of the moon according to the Chinese calendar. Holidays can last up to five days.
²	Day of reverence to ancestors, it is considered unlucky to conduct business on this day. Usually takes place on April 4 or 5.
³	Festival commemorating the failed attempt to rescue the Chinese hero and poet Chu Yuan from drowning in 277 B.C. Celebrations take place on the 5th day of the 5th month according to calculations of the Chinese calendar.
*¹	Known as the Harvest Moon Festival, and marked by family reunions, celebrations take place on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press