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 1947 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 Taiwan's eventual status - as well as domestic political and economic reform.

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

slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined

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

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

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

earthquakes; typhoons

air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal

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

22,974,347 (July 2010 est.)

8.99 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

6.76 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

1.15 children born/woman (2010 est.)

Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, indigenous 2%

mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%

Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects

multiparty democracy

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 (chih-hsia-shih, singular and plural)

Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911)

adopted on 25 December 1946; promulgated on 1 January 1947; effective 25 December 1947; amended numerous times

based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

20 years of age; universal

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; members to serve four-year terms); parties must receive 5% of vote to qualify for at-large seats

Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan)

Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [TSAI Ing-wen]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [MA Ying-jeou]; Non-Partisan Solidarity Union or NPSU [LIN Pin-kuan]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG]

environmental groups; independence movement; various business groups

ADB, APEC, BCIE, ICC, IOC, ITUC, WFTU, WTO

none; commercial and cultural relations with the people in the United States are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), a private nonprofit corporation that performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts

none; commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a private nonprofit corporation that performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts

red field with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays; the blue and white design of the canton (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates to 1895; it was later adopted as the flag of the Kuomintang Party; blue signifies liberty, justice, and democracy; red stands for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationaliam, white represents equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood; the 12 rays of the sun are those of the months and the twelve traditional Chinese hours (each ray equals two hours)

Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing government guidance of investment and foreign trade. In keeping with this trend, some large, state-owned banks and industrial firms have been privatized. Exports, led by electronics and machinery, generate about 70% of Taiwan's GDP growth, and have provided the primary impetus for economic development. This heavy dependence on exports makes the economy vulnerable to downturns in world demand. In 2009, Taiwan's GDP fell by 2.5%, due primarily to a 20% year-on-year decline in exports. Taiwan's diplomatic isolation, low birth rate, and rapidly aging population are major long-term challenges. Free trade agreements have proliferated in East Asia over the past several years, but so far Taiwan has been excluded from this greater economic integration, largely for reasons of diplomacy. Taiwan's birth rate of only 1.2 child per woman is among the lowest in the world, raising the prospect of future labor shortages, falling domestic demand, and declining tax revenues. Taiwan's population is aging quickly, with the number of people over 65 accounting for 10.8% of the island's total population as of the end of 2009. The island runs a large trade surplus, and its foreign reserves are the world's fourth largest, behind China, Japan, and Russia. Since President MA Ying-jeou took office in May 2008, cross-Strait economic ties have increased significantly. Since 2005 China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's second-largest source of imports after Japan. China is also the island's number one destination for foreign direct investment. Taipei has focused much of its economic recovery effort on improving cross-Strait economic integration. Three financial memorandums of understanding, covering banking, securities, and insurance, took effect in mid-January 2010, opening the island to greater investments from the Mainland's financial firms and institutional investors, and providing new opportunities for Taiwan financial firms to operate in China. In January 2010, Taipei and Beijing began the first round of cross-Strait negotiations on an economic cooperation framework agreement.

$735.4 billion (2009 est.)

$749.6 billion (2008 est.)

$744.4 billion (2007 est.)

$379 billion (2009 est.)

10.92 million (2009 est.)

18.7% of GDP (2009 est.)

32.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

29.8% of GDP (2008 est.)

1.25% (February 2009)

2.56% (31 December 2009)

$618 billion (November 2008)

$NA (31 December 2007)

$671.5 billion (31 December 2009)

$649.2 billion (31 December 2008)

$657.3 billion (31 December 2009)

$354.7 billion (31 December 2008)

$654 billion (28 December 2007)

rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish

electronics, communications and information technology products, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals

238.3 billion kWh (2008)

229.8 billion kWh (2008)

276,800 bbl/day (2009 est.)

910,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

359,800 bbl/day (2009 est.)

931,300 bbl/day (2009 est.)

2.38 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

360 million cu m (2008 est.)

12.44 billion cu m (2008 est.)

12.08 billion cu m (2008 est.)

6.229 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

$42.57 billion (2009 est.)

$25.12 billion (2008)

$203.4 billion (2009 est.)

$254.9 billion (2008 est.)

electronics, flat panels, machinery; metals; textiles, plastics, chemicals; optical, photographic, measuring, and medical instruments

China 26.64%, Hong Kong 14.46%, US 11.59%, Japan 7.12%, Singapore 4.23% (2009)

$172.7 billion (2009 est.)

$236.4 billion (2008 est.)

electronics, machinery, crude petroleum, precision instruments, organic chemicals, metals

Japan 20.77%, China 14.01%, US 10.49%, South Korea 6.03%, Saudi Arabia 4.97% (2009)

$353 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$296.4 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$79.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$90.4 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$107.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$102.3 billion (2008 est.)

$145.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$135.4 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

New Taiwan dollars (TWD) per US dollar - 33.056 (2009), 31.53 (2008), 32.84 (2007), 32.534 (2006), 31.71 (2005)

14.273 million (2008)

25.412 million (2008)

5 free-to-air nationwide television networks operating roughly 75 TV stations; about 85% of households utilize multi-channel cable TV; national and regional radio networks with about 170 radio stations broadcasting (2008)

5.704 million (2009)

15.143 million (2008)

Chilung (Keelung), Kaohsiung, Taichung

Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command

19-35 years of age for male compulsory military service; service obligation 12 months; women may enlist; women in Air Force service are restricted to noncombat roles; reserve obligation to age 30 (Army); the Ministry of Defense has announced plans to implement an incremental voluntary enlistment system 2010-2015, with 10% fewer conscripts each year thereafter, although nonvolunteers will still be required to perform alternative service or go through 3-4 months of military training (2010)

involved in complex dispute with Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam over the Spratly Islands, and with China and the Philippines over Scarborough Reef; 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

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