Taiwan, Chinese (Wade-Giles romanization) T’ai-wan or (Pinyin) Taiwan, Portuguese

Formosa, island in the western Pacific Ocean that lies roughly 100 miles (160 km) off the coast
of southeastern China. It is approximately 245 miles (395 km) long (north-south) and 90 miles
(145 km) across at its widest point. Taipei, in the north, is the seat of government of the Republic
of China (ROC; Nationalist China). In addition to the main island, the ROC government has
jurisdiction over 22 islands in the Taiwan group and 64 islands to the west in the P’eng-hu
(Pescadores) archipelago. Two island groups controlled by the ROC government, Matsu and
Quemoy, lie just off the coast of China’s Fujian (Fukien) province. In the East China Sea, the
ROC claims the group of islands it calls Diaoyutai, which also are claimed by Japan as Senkaku
and by the People’s Republic of China as Diaoyu. Moreover, in the South China Sea, the ROC’s
claim to the Paracels is disputed with the People’s Republic of China and Vietnam, whereas a
larger group of countries—the People’s Republic of China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the
Philippines, in addition to the ROC—all claim the Spratly Islands.

Taiwan
Taiwan.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
T'ao-yüan
T'ao-yüan, Taiwan.
Mnb
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Prior to the 1600s, Taiwan was self-governing, although there was no central ruling authority. It
was a colony of the Netherlands for about 40 years in the early to mid-17th century and was
subsequently independent again for about two decades. China gained control there in the late
17th century and ruled Taiwan for some two centuries. Japan acquired Taiwan in 1895 following
the first Sino-Japanese War, and it became a colony.

TaiwanEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Taiwan was returned to Nationalist Chinese control in 1945 following Japan’s defeat in World
War II. However, in 1949 Chinese communist armies defeated Nationalist forces on the
mainland and established the People’s Republic of China there. The Nationalist government and
armies fled to Taiwan, again resulting in the separation of Taiwan from China. In the ensuing
years the ROC claimed jurisdiction over the Chinese mainland as well as Taiwan, although in the
early 1990s Taiwan’s government dropped this claim to China. The Chinese government in
Beijing has maintained that it has jurisdiction over Taiwan and has continued to propound a one-
China policy—a position that few countries in the world dispute. There has been no agreement,
however, on how or when, if ever, the two entities will be reunified.

Land
Taiwan, roughly oval in shape, is approximate in area to the Netherlands or to the U.S. states of
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut combined. It is part of a string of islands off the
coast of East and Southeast Asia extending from Japan south through the Philippines to
Indonesia. Taiwan is bounded to the north and northeast by the East China Sea, with the Ryukyu
Islands (the southernmost part of Japan) to the northeast. To the east is found the great expanse
of the Pacific Ocean, and to the south is the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the
Philippines. To the west is the Taiwan (Formosa) Strait, which separates Taiwan from the
Chinese mainland.
Physical features of TaiwanEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Shih-t'i-p'ing, Taiwan
Eastern coastline of Taiwan at Shih-t'i-p'ing (Shitiping).
Fred Hsu
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Relief
Taiwan’s volcanic soil and the frequency of earthquakes on the island indicate a common origin
with the other nearby archipelagoes. However, the configuration of its coastlines and the age and
formations of rocks on Taiwan’s west coast suggest to some geologists that Taiwan was once
part of the Asian mainland. In general, the relief of the island consists of an uplifted crustal block
that trends north-northeast to south-southwest. The interior of the island is mountainous and
slopes sharply downward on the east side to the Pacific and more gently in the west to the
Taiwan Strait.

Chung-yang Range
Portion of the Chung-yang (Zhongyang) Range in eastern Taiwan.
Fred Hsu
Take an aerial tour of the mesmerizing landscape of Taiwan
An aerial tour of Taiwan.
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Mountains cover approximately two-thirds of the surface of the island. The highest are in the
Chung-yang (Zhongyang, or Central) Range in the east, which extends along the island’s north-
south axis and in many places descends to the shoreline. Several dozen peaks in the range tower
near or above 10,000 feet (3,000 metres), the highest being Yu (Jade) Mountain, which rises to
13,113 feet (3,997 metres). The western part of the island, consisting of terraced tablelands and
alluvial plains, has most of Taiwan’s flatland and, consequently, the bulk of its farmland and
most of its population. By contrast, the east coast—aside from one major rift valley—provides
little room for human settlement.

Many of Taiwan’s best harbours are located along the western coastline—e.g., Kao-hsiung
(Gaoxiong) and An-p’ing (Anping) district of T’ai-nan (Tainan) special municipality in the
southwest—with the exceptions being Suao Bay on the northeast coast and Chi-lung (Jilong, or
Keelung) on the northern tip of the island. Most of the farmland and consequently most of the
population are to be found on the western part of the island.
An-p'ing
Port of An-p'ing (Anping) district of T'ai-nan (Tainan) special municipality, southwestern
Taiwan.
Koika

Drainage and soils

Taiwan has a relatively large number of rivers for its size, but they are mostly short and small
and are not navigable—the exception to the latter description being the Tan-shui (Danshui, or
Tamsui) River, which flows northward from the mountains and passes near Taipei before
emptying into the Taiwan Strait. Most of Taiwan’s rivers originate on the slopes of the Chung-
yang Range, and those that flow east are steeper and have faster flowing currents than those that
flow west. Riverbeds of the west-flowing streams, after leaving the mountains, tend to be wide
and shallow and that, together with the fact that those rivers carry considerable silt, makes
managing water resources difficult. The Cho-shui (Zhuoshui) River in central Taiwan is the
island’s longest, at 116 miles (186 km), and the Kao-p’ing (Gaoping) River in the south has the
largest drainage basin. Irrigation and drainage channels link many of Taiwan’s rivers.
Tan-shui River, Taiwan
The Tan-shui (Danshui, or Tamsui) River at Tan-shui, northern Taiwan.
Latinboy

The soils of Taiwan vary considerably in fertility. Because the island is of volcanic origin, it has
rich soils. However, those soils have largely been leeched of their nutrients by heavy rains and
long-term irrigation. In the northern part of the island, the soils in arable areas are primarily acid
alluvials and latosols; in the south, areas of arable land have neutral to weak-alkaline and
planosol-like alluvial soils. Much of Taiwan’s soil is deficient in phosphorous and potash, and
fertilizers are needed to produce good harvests, especially where the land is double cropped.

Taiwan
Self-governing island, Asia
flag of Taiwan
Official name
Chung-hua Min-kuo (Republic of China)
Form of government
multiparty republic with one legislative house (Legislative Yuan [1131])
Head of state
President: Tsai Ing-wen
Head of government
Premier: Su Tseng-chang
Seat of government
Taipei
Official language
Mandarin Chinese
Official religion
none
Monetary unit
New Taiwan dollar (NT$)
Currency Exchange Rate
1 USD equals 27.737 Taiwan new dollar
Population
(2020 est.) 23,625,000
Population rank
(2019) 57
Population projection 2030
23,557,000
Total area (sq mi)
13,976
Total area (sq km)
36,197
Density: persons per sq mi
(2020) 1,690.1
Density: persons per sq km
(2020) 652.7
Urban-rural population
Urban: (2018) 78.2%
Rural: (2018) 21.8%
Life expectancy at birth
Male: (2018) 77.6 years
Female: (2018) 84.1 years
Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate
Male: not available
Female: not available
GNI (U.S.$ ’000,000)
(2019) 610,872
GNI per capita (U.S.$)
(2019) 25,881
 1
 Includes six elected seats reserved for aboriginal peoples.

Climate of Taiwan
Taiwan’s climate is subtropical, except for the very southern part of the island, which is tropical.
Summers are long and hot, lasting from April or May to September or October. The winters are
short and mild, although snow does fall in the mountains and occasionally at lower elevations in
the north. The mean annual high temperature on the island is 70 °F (21 °C); elevation makes a
considerable difference in the temperature in the winter, though it is not much of a factor in the
summer. The warm Kuroshio (Japan Current), which flows northward to the east of Taiwan,
moderates the island’s temperatures.

Taiwan receives abundant precipitation throughout the year, totaling about 102 inches (2,590
mm) annually. In general, rainfall is heavier on the east side of the island and in the mountains.
However, its distribution depends on the seasonal monsoon (wet-dry) wind patterns. The winter
(October through March) southeastward-blowing winds produce a rainy season in the north,
while dry conditions prevail in the southern part of the island; the conditions are reversed in
summer. The climate patterns on the islands near Taiwan are similar except that they are not
affected by elevation. The climate of the offshore islands is similar to that of coastal southeastern
China.

Taiwan does not experience tornadoes, which are common on the mainland. However, it is
affected by typhoons (tropical cyclones) from late summer to early fall that are among the
strongest in the world. Taiwan’s typhoons can inflict considerable damage to crops and
sometimes cause severe flooding.

Plant and animal life

Vegetation covers nearly all of Taiwan’s land surface, a situation created by good rainfall and
warm temperatures for most of the year. The island was once covered almost completely by
forests, but now only a little more than half of the land surface is forested. Taiwan has a large
variety of trees, though nearly three-fourths of the forests are hardwoods. Conifers, which make
up fewer than one-fifth of trees, are the most useful in building. Fewer trees grow on the smaller
islands Taipei governs, in most cases because persistent winds there inhibit forest growth. That
situation is especially true of the P’eng-hu Islands (Pescadores). There also is a great variety of
other plant life on Taiwan, owing to different soil types, elevation, and other factors.
P'eng-hu Islands, Taiwan
The treeless coastline of the P'eng-hu (Penghu) Islands (Pescadores), Taiwan.
© hsien chun chang/Fotolia

As the climate varies with elevation, so too does the natural vegetation. Stands of mixed bamboo,
palm, and tropical evergreens grow in the lowlands. Subtropical evergreen forests, including
camphor laurel, are found at elevations between about 2,000 to 6,000 feet (600 to 1,800 metres).
Broad-leaved evergreen forests are represented by cedars, cypress, junipers, rhododendrons,
maples, and Japanese cedars (Cryptomeria japonica) from 6,000 to 8,000 feet (1,800 to 2,400
metres), whereas coniferous forests are found above 7,500 feet (2,300 metres).

Some 45 mammal species are indigenous to Taiwan; most of the others are similar to those found
on the mainland. The largest mammal is the Formosan black bear. Foxes, flying foxes, deer, and
wild boars are still found in less-inhabited areas of the island. About 550 species and subspecies
of birds have been sighted on Taiwan, of which some 85 species or subspecies are indigenous.
There are a great number of reptile species, including a large variety of snakes, many of which
are poisonous. The smaller islands that are governed by Taipei have fewer varieties of plant and
animal life.
brownbul or brown-eared bulbul
Brown-eared bulbuls (Microscelis amaurotis) are native to China, Taiwan, several Japanese
islands, and a few islands in the Philippines.
arudhio

The people
Ethnic groups
The population of Taiwan is composed of four ethnic or subethnic groups: aboriginal peoples,
two groups of Taiwanese—the Fukien Taiwanese (Fukienese [Fujianese], or Hoklo) and the
Hakka—and Chinese who came from mainland China beginning in the mid-1940s.
Taiwan: ethnic composition
Ethnic composition of Taiwan.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Aboriginal peoples, who were once the only residents of Taiwan, today constitute only a tiny
fraction—roughly 2 percent—of Taiwan’s total population. The government recognizes 16
aboriginal groups or tribes. The Ami is the largest group, comprising about two-fifths of the
aboriginal population. The next three largest groups in descending order of numbers—the
Paiwan, Atayal, and Bunan—together account for most of the remaining aboriginal population.
The two smallest groups, the Thao and Hla’alua, number only several hundred each. Aboriginal
peoples are considered to be the original inhabitants of Taiwan, although that is not certain. They
were present on the island more than 10,000 years ago. On the basis of language and culture,
they were thought to have migrated to Taiwan from Southeast Asia. However, some scholars
considered it possible that they migrated from southern China and that some tribes may have had
other origins. Studies undertaken in the late 20th and early 21st centuries suggest that they may
have been on the island much earlier and, on the basis of DNA evidence, that they may have
migrated to other places in the region, among them Polynesia, including what is now New
Zealand.

The Hoklo (Fukien Taiwanese) and the Hakka began arriving on the island a thousand years ago,
although most migrated during the 14th–17th century. The Hoklo hailed from southern Fukien
(Fujian) province. The Hakka came from Kuangtung (Guandong) province and Fukien, though
they had no “home province” in China and throughout the centuries suffered from discrimination
and thus have sometimes been compared to the Roma or Jews. It is uncertain which of the two
peoples migrated to Taiwan first, but the Fukien Taiwanese came in larger numbers and forced
the Hakka off their land and into the interior, more dangerous parts of the island, where the land
was not as good.

The relationship between these two groups of early-arrival Chinese, or Taiwanese, was not good,
and they often engaged in conflict or local wars. They generally regarded each other as enemies.
Today the Hakka comprise about 15 percent of the total population. The Fukien Taiwanese are
the majority ethnic group in Taiwan, making up about 65 percent of its residents.

After World War II, Chinese from various parts of China went to Taiwan as the Japanese
colonial government and Japanese businesspeople and farmers there departed. The newer arrivals
became known as mainland Chinese, or recent Chinese immigrants. Many more Chinese went to
Taiwan in 1949, after the Chinese communists under Mao Zedong defeated the Nationalists led
by Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang took his political party, government, military, and anyone able to
flee at the time to Taiwan. However, more Chinese arriving during that period hailed from
southern coastal China than from other parts of the mainland. Mainland Chinese constitute about
15 percent of Taiwan’s population.

Taipei, Taiwan: boys in traditional garments

Boys in traditional attire during festivities honouring the birthday of Confucius, Taipei, Taiwan.
Geoff Tompkinson/GTImage.com (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
More About This Topic
 History of film: Taiwan
 Nuclear weapon: Taiwan

 Chinese literature: Literature in Taiwan after 1949

 Intelligence: Taiwan

Languages of Taiwan
Each aboriginal group speaks a distinct language that generally is unintelligible to other groups.
The aboriginal people had no written language until they made contact with the Dutch in the 17th
century. The Hakka have their own language, which has affinities with both Cantonese and
Mandarin Chinese. The Fukien Taiwanese speak Minnan, a form of Southern Min (often called
Taiwanese on Taiwan), which comes from southern Fukien province. The mainlanders speak
Mandarin Chinese, the official language of China. Many mainlanders may also speak a dialect of
the province from which they originally came, although that practice has diminished
considerably among the younger generations born on Taiwan. Most aboriginal people speak
Mandarin; many speak Taiwanese, and a diminishing number know Japanese. Hoklos also speak
Mandarin; older ones speak Japanese. Most Hakka speak Taiwanese and Mandarin, and some
speak Japanese.
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After World War II the mainland Chinese-run government made Mandarin the official language,
and it was used in the schools and in government. With democratization, other languages or
dialects became more popular. The Fukien Taiwanese have consistently promoted their
language, with some suggesting getting rid of Mandarin—since it is the language of the former
minority ruling class. Yet Mandarin has the largest number of speakers of any language in the
world, and Taiwan increasingly depends on trade and commercial ties with China. Hence the
idea of replacing Mandarin with Taiwanese has not gotten too far, and Taiwan seems likely to
remain multilingual.

Religions
The aboriginal peoples practice animism, nature worship, and other indigenous religious rites.
The Chinese brought Buddhism, Daoism (Taoism), and Confucianism to Taiwan. The Dutch
introduced Protestant Christianity and the Spanish Roman Catholicism. The Japanese brought
Shinto. In 1949 many religious groups and religious leaders—especially Confucian, Buddhist,
and Daoist—fled to Taiwan from China.

Taiwan: religious affiliations

Religious affiliations of Taiwan.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
00:00 00:30
The principal religions of Taiwan according to the number of adherents are: Buddhism, Daoism
(Taoism), Christianity, and Yiguan Dao (I-Kuan Tao; “Way of Unity”). Buddhists and Daoists
are by far the largest groups. Many of Taiwan’s residents are Confucians, though Confucianism
is not strictly a religion but rather an ethical system that applies especially to politics and a
philosophical system that is particularly Chinese. Religious affiliation is not exclusivist in
Taiwan, and many people adhere to more than one faith.

Other religions operate freely in Taiwan, and Taiwan is said to be one of the most religiously
tolerant places in the world. Certainly few people express concern about or prejudice against
others because of their religion. Before Chen Shui-bian became president in 2000, all of
Taiwan’s presidents at least nominally professed to be Christian, even though the adherents of
Christianity constitute only a small minority of the population of Taiwan.
T'ai-nan, Taiwan: Confucian temple
Confucian temple in T'ai-nan (Tainan), Taiwan.