TAIWAN GEOGRAPHY Total area: 35,980 km2; land area: 32,260 km2; includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut Land boundaries: none Coastline: 1,448 km Maritime claims: Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm Disputes: involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan Climate: 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 Natural resources: small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos Land use: arable land 24%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 5%; forest and woodland 55%; other 15%; irrigated 14% Environment: subject to earthquakes and typhoons PEOPLE Population: 20,658,702 (July 1991), growth rate 1.1% (1991) Birth rate: 16 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (19901 Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Chinese (sing., pl.); adjective--Chinese Ethnic divisions: Taiwanese 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2% Religion: mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5% Language: Mandarin Chinese (official); Taiwanese and Hakka dialects also used Literacy: 91.2% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990) Labor force: 7,900,000; industry and commerce 53%, services 22%, agriculture 15.6%, civil administration 7% (1989) Organized labor: 1,300,000 or about 18.4% (government controlled) (1983) @m2Administration Long-form name: none Type: one-party presidential regime; opposition political parties legalized in March, 1989 Capital: Taipei Administrative divisions: the authorities in Taipei claim to be the government of all China; in keeping with that claim, the central administrative divisions include 2 provinces (sheng, singular and plural) and 2 municipalities* (shih, singular and plural)--Fu-chien (some 20 offshore islands of Fujian Province including Quemoy and Matsu), Kao-hsiung*, T'ai-pei*, and Taiwan (the island of Taiwan and the Pescadores islands); the more commonly referenced administrative divisions are those of Taiwan Province--16 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities* (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special municipalities** (chuan-shih, singular and plural); Chang-hua, Chia-i, Chia-i*, Chi-lung*, Hsin-chu, Hsin-chu*, Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung, Kao-hsiung**, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-chung*, T'ai-nan, T'ai-nan*, T'ai-pei, T'ai-pei**, T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin; the provincial capital is at Chung-hsing-hsin-ts'un; note--Taiwan uses the Wade-Giles system for romanization Constitution: 25 December 1947, presently undergoing revision Legal system: based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations National holiday: National Day (Anniversary of the Revolution), 10 October (1911) Executive branch: president, vice president, premier of the Executive Yuan, vice premier of the Executive Yuan, Executive Yuan Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Yuan Judicial branch: Judicial Yuan Leaders: Chief of State--President LI Teng-hui (since 13 January 1988); Vice President LI Yuan-zu (since 20 May 1990); Head of Government--Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) HAO Po-ts'un (since 2 May 1990); Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) SHIH Ch'i-yang (since NA July 1988) Political parties and leaders: Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), LI Teng-hui, chairman; Democratic Socialist Party and Young China Party controlled by Kuomintang; Democratic Progressive Party (DPP); Labor Party; 27 other minor parties Suffrage: universal at age 20 Elections: President--last held 21 March 1990 (next to be held March 1996); results--President LI Teng-hui was reelected by the National Assembly; Vice President--last held 21 March 1990 (next to be held March 1996); results--LI Yuan-zu was elected by the National Assembly; Legislative Yuan--last held 2 December 1989 (next to be held December 1992); results--KMT 65%, DPP 33%, independents 2%; seats--(304 total, 102 elected) KMT 78, DPP 21, independents 3; National Assembly:--originally elected in November 1947 (last supplementary election in December 1986; Assembly will be completely reelected in December 1991) Member of: expelled from UN General Assembly and Security Council on 25 October 1971 and withdrew on same date from other charter-designated subsidiary organs; expelled from IMF/World Bank group April/May 1980; seeking to join GATT; attempting to retain membership in INTELSAT; suspended from IAEA in 1972, but still allows IAEA controls over extensive atomic development; AsDB, ICC, ICFTU, IOC Diplomatic representation: none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through a private instrumentality, the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CCNAA) with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 10 other US cities with all addresses and telephone numbers NA; US--unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of Taiwan are maintained through a private institution, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which has offices in Taipei at #7 Lane 134, telephone 886 (2) 709-2000, and in Kao-hsiung at #2 Chung Cheng 3d Road, telephone 886 (7) 224-0154 through 0157, and the American Trade Center at Room 3207 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei 10548, telephone 886 (2) 720-1550 Flag: red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays ECONOMY Overview: Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with considerable government guidance of investment and foreign trade and partial government ownership of some large banks and industrial firms. Real growth in GNP has averaged about 9% a year during the past three decades. Export growth has been even faster and has provided the impetus for industrialization. Agriculture contributes about 4% to GNP, down from 35% in 1952. Taiwan currently ranks as number 13 among major trading countries. Traditional labor-intensive industries are steadily being replaced with more capital- and technology-intensive industries. GNP: $150.8 billion, per capita $7,380; real growth rate 5.2% (1990) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (1990) Unemployment rate: 1.7% (1990) Budget: revenues $30.3 billion; expenditures $30.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.) Exports: $67.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--textiles 15.6%, electrical machinery 18.2%, general machinery and equipment 14.8%, basic metals and metal products 7.8%, foodstuffs 1.7%, plywood and wood products 1.6% (1989); partners--US 36.2%, Japan 13.7% (1989) Imports: $54.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990); commodities--machinery and equipment 15.3%, crude oil 5%, chemical and chemical products 11.1%, basic metals 13.0%, foodstuffs 2.2% (1989); partners--Japan 31%, US 23%, FRG 5% (1989) External debt: $1.1 billion (December 1990 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 4.7% (1990 est.) Electricity: 17,000,000 kW capacity; 68,000 million kWh produced, 3,310 kWh per capita (1990) Industries: electronics, textiles, chemicals, clothing, food processing, plywood, sugar milling, cement, shipbuilding, petroleum Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GNP and 16% of labor force (includes part-time farmers); heavily subsidized sector; major crops--vegetables, rice, fruit, tea; livestock--hogs, poultry, beef, milk, cattle; not self-sufficient in wheat, soybeans, corn; fish catch increasing, 1.4 million metric tons (1988) Economic aid: US, including Ex-Im (FY46-82), $4.6 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $445 million Currency: New Taiwan dollar (plural--dollars); 1 New Taiwan dollar (NT$) = 100 cents Exchange rates: New Taiwan dollars per US$1--27.2 (January 1991), 27.243 (November 1990), 26.407 (1989), 28.589 (1988), 31.845 (1987), 37.838 (1986), 39.849 (1985) Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: about 4,600 km total track with 1,075 km common carrier lines and 3,525 km industrial lines; common carrier lines consist of the 1.067-meter gauge 708 km West Line and the 367 km East Line; a 98.25 km South Link Line connection is under construction; common carrier lines owned by the government and operated by the Railway Administration under Ministry of Communications; industrial lines owned and operated by government enterprises Highways: 20,041 km total; 17,095 km bituminous or concrete, 2,371 km crushed stone or gravel, 575 km graded earth Pipelines: 615 km refined products, 97 km natural gas Ports: Kao-hsiung, Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Su-ao, T'ai-tung Merchant marine: 226 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,557,167 GRT/9,153,646 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 52 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo, 75 container, 15 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 combination ore/oil, 1 specialized tanker, 62 bulk Airports: 38 total, 37 usable; 33 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m; 16 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 8 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: best developed system in Asia outside of Japan; 7,800,000 telephones; extensive microwave transmission links on east and west coasts; stations--91 AM, 23 FM, 15 TV (13 relays); 8,620,000 radios; 6,386,000 TVs (5,680,000 color, 706,000 monochrome); earth stations--1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT; submarine cable links to Japan (Okinawa), the Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, Taiwan Garrison Command, Ministry of National Defense Manpower availability: males 15-49, 5,874,345; 4,577,294 fit for military service; about 187,807 currently reach military age (19) annually