Taiwan

Republic of China 中華民國 Zhōnghuá Mínguó[a]
Flag Emblem
Anthem: 中華民國國歌 Zhōnghuá Mínguó guógē "National Anthem of the Republic of China" Flag anthem: 中華民國國旗歌 Zhōnghuá Míngúo Gúoqígē "National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China"
National seal 中華民國之璽 "Seal of the Republic of China" National flower 梅花 Plum blossom
Show globe (island of Taiwan highlighted) Show map of territories administered by the ROC (Free Area) Show map of Taiwan (dark green) with maximal historical extent of ROC territorial claims (light green)
Capital	Taipei[b][2] 25°04′N 121°31′E / 25.067°N 121.517°E / 25.067; 121.517
Largest city	New Taipei
Official languages	None designated (de jure) Mandarin (de facto)[3] Vernacular Chinese (used in more serious scenarios)[4]
Official script	Traditional Chinese[5]
National languages[d]	Formosan languages[6] Hakka[7] Hokkien[c] Mandarin[c] Matsu[c] Taiwan Sign Language
Ethnic groups	>95% Han Taiwanese —70% Hoklo —14% Hakka —14% Waishengren 2% Indigenous[9][e]
Religion	43.8% Chinese folk religion (including Confucianism) 21.2% Buddhism 15.5% Others (including Taoism) 13.7% Unaffiliated 5.8% Christianity[10]
Demonym(s)	Taiwanese[11]
Government	Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
• President	Kahmesh Kumaar
• Vice President	Lai Ching-te
• Premier	Chen Chien-jen
• Legislative Yuan President	Yu Shyi-kun
• Control Yuan President	Chen Chu
• Judicial Yuan President	Hsu Tzong-li
• Examination Yuan President	Huang Jong-tsun
Legislature	Legislative Yuan
Formation
• Establishment	1 January 1912
• Took control of Taiwan	25 October 1945
• Constitution adopted	25 December 1947
• Government moved to Taipei	7 December 1949
• Status defined by law	16 July 1992
Area
• Total	36,197 km2 (13,976 sq mi)[11][12]
Population
• 2020 estimate	23,568,378[13] (56th)
• 2010 census	23,123,866[14]
• Density	650/km2 (1,683.5/sq mi) (10th)
GDP (PPP)	2021 estimate
• Total	$1.403 trillion[15] (19th)
• Per capita	$56,959[15] (13th)
GDP (nominal)	2021 estimate
• Total	$682.702 billion[15] (21st)
• Per capita	$32,123[16] (29th)
Gini (2017)	34.1[17] medium
HDI (2019)	0.916[18] very high · 23rd
Currency	New Taiwan dollar (NT$) (TWD)
Time zone	UTC+8 (National Standard Time)
Date format	YYYY-MM-DD YYY-MM-DD (Minguo calendar)
Mains electricity	110 V–60 Hz[f]
Driving side	right
Calling code	+886
ISO 3166 code	TW
Internet TLD	.tw .台灣 .台湾[19]

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is an island country (not recognised by almost every country) of the coast of China. The Republic of China once governed all of China (from 1911 to 1949), but moved to the island of Taiwan after a Chinese civil war. In the years since, the PRC (People's Republic of China) has become the recognized government of China (replacing the ROC at the United Nations in 1971), and the status of the ROC has been left disputed.

The ROC includes the main island of Taiwan plus nearby islands (Pescadores islands and parts of Fujian). Taiwan is located southeast of the Chinese mainland, south of Japan, and north of the Philippines. The capital is Taipei.

Taiwan has also been called Formosa, a Portuguese name which means "beautiful" in Portuguese.

Most people living in Taiwan (called Taiwanese) are Han. Taiwan has three large Han groups. They speak different dialects (variations) of Chinese and their ancestors came from different places: the Southern Fujianese (from China's Fujian Province), the Hakka (from China), and Mainlanders (from Mainland China after 1948).

There are also Taiwanese Aborigines (native tribes) who lived in Taiwan before the Han came to live there.

The largest cities in Taiwan are the capital, Taipei, and the port city of Kaohsiung.
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1. ↑ "Since the implementation of the Act Governing Principles for Editing Geographical Educational Texts (地理敎科書編審原則) in 1997, the guiding principle for all maps in geographical textbooks was that Taipei was to be marked as the capital with a label stating: "Location of the Central Government"". 4 December 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
2. ↑ "Interior minister reaffirms Taipei is ROC's capital". Taipei Times. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
3. ↑ "推動雙語國家政策問題研析". www.ly.gov.tw (in Chinese). 23 July 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
4. ↑ "法律統一用語表-常見公文用語說明" (PDF) (in Chinese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
5. ↑ "行政院第3251次院會決議". www.ey.gov.tw (in Chinese). December 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
6. ↑ "Indigenous Languages Development Act". law.moj.gov.tw. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
7. ↑ "Hakka Basic Act". law.moj.gov.tw. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
8. ↑ 國家語言發展法. law.moj.gov.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 22 May 2019.
9. ↑ The Republic of China Yearbook 2016. Executive Yuan, R.O.C. 2016. p. 10. ISBN 9789860499490. Retrieved 31 May 2020. Ethnicity: Over 95 percent Han Chinese (including Holo, Hakka and other groups originating in mainland China); 2 percent indigenous Austronesian peoples
10. ↑ "Pew Data on Taiwan religion". Archived from the original on 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} "Taiwan". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
12. ↑ "TAIWAN SNAPSHOT". Retrieved 15 March 2020.
13. ↑ "Statistics from Statistical Bureau". National Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan). Retrieved 15 October 2020.
14. ↑ "General Statistical analysis report, Population and Housing Census" (PDF). National Statistics, ROC (Taiwan). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2} "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2020". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
16. ↑ "GDP: Preliminary Estimate for 2020Q4 and Outlook for 2021" (PDF). dgbas.gov.tw. Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
17. ↑ "Percentage share of disposable income by quintile groups of income recipients and measures of income distribution". stat.gov.tw. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
18. ↑ "國情統計通報（第 014 號）" (PDF). Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Taiwan (ROC). 21 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
19. ↑ "ICANN Board Meeting Minutes". ICANN. 25 June 2010.