Taiwan (GPS: 23 30 N, 121 00 E) located in 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. The country’s area measurements are total: 35,980 sq km; land: 32,260 sq km, water: 3,720 sq km. This sovereign state is slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined. The total irrigated land is 3,820 sq km (2012).
One of the essential features of Taiwan: Strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait.
It’s significant, and at the same time, the principal city, Taipei’s GPS coordinates are 25 02 N 121 31 E. Taipei’s local time is 13 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time. The capital’s time difference: UTC+8.
For more information on Taiwan, please scroll down below the Google Maps.
Google Maps Taiwan and Taipei, Southeast Asia
About Taiwan in detail
Flag of Taiwan
Map of Taiwan
First inhabited by Austronesian people, Taiwan became home to Han immigrants beginning in the late Ming Dynasty (17th century). In 1895, military defeat forced China’s Qing Dynasty to cede Taiwan to Japan, which then governed Taiwan for 50 years. Taiwan came under the Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang, KMT) control after World War II. With the communist victory in the Chinese civil war in 1949, the Nationalist-controlled Republic of China government and 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan. It continued to claim to be the legitimate government for mainland China and Taiwan based on a 1947 Constitution drawn up for all of China. Until 1987, however, the Nationalist government ruled Taiwan under a civil war martial law declaration dating to 1948.
Beginning in the 1970s, Nationalist authorities gradually began to incorporate the native population into the governing structure beyond the local level. The democratization process expanded rapidly in the 1980s, leading to the then illegal founding of Taiwan’s first opposition party (the Democratic Progressive Party or DPP) in 1986 and the following year’s lifting of martial law. Taiwan held legislative elections in 1992, the first in over forty years, and its first direct presidential election in 1996. In the 2000 presidential elections, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power with the KMT loss to the DPP and afterward experienced two additional democratic transfers of power in 2008 and 2016. Throughout this period, the island prospered became one of East Asia’s economic “Tigers,” and after 2000, became a significant investor in mainland China as cross-Strait ties matured. The dominant political issues continue to be economic reform and growth and diplomatic relations between Taiwan and China.
Taiwan’s names conventional long form: none, traditional short form: Taiwan, local long way: none, local short form: Taiwan, former: Formosa, etymology: “Tayowan” was the name of the coastal sandbank where the Dutch erected their colonial headquarters on the island in the 17th century; the former name “Formosa” means “beautiful” in Portuguese. “Tayowan” was the name of the coastal sandbank where the Dutch erected their colonial headquarters on the island in the 17th century; The former name “Formosa” means “beautiful” in Portuguese.
Taiwan’s terrain is typically eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in the west. The country’s mean elevation: 1,150 m, elevation extremes; lowest point: the South China Sea 0 m, highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m.
The general climate in the country; tropical: marine: rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August): persistent and extensive cloudiness all year.
The total number of border countries is 0; none are the neighboring nations with the indicated border lengths. Taiwan’s coastline is 1,566.3 km, while its marital claims are: territorial sea: 12 nautical miles, exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles. Waterways: N/A. Land use: agricultural land: 22.7%; arable land 16.9%; permanent crops 5.8%; permanent pasture N/A; forest: N/A; other: 77.3% (2011 estimate).
The population in Taiwan 23,545,963 (July 2018 estimate), N/A, major urban area’s population: TAIPEI (capital) 2.666 million; Kaohsiung 1.523 million; Taichung 1.225 million; Tainan 815,000 (2015), while Taiwan has N/A. Their spoken languages are Mandarin Chinese (official language), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects. Taiwan’s main religions are a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%. The nation uses civil law system. It is a(n) semi-presidential republic, National holiday(s) Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911).
Economic overview for the country: Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy that is primarily driven by industrial manufacturing, and especially exports of electronics, machinery, and petrochemicals. This heavy dependence on exports exposes the economy to fluctuations in global demand. Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation, low birth rate, rapidly aging population, and increasing competition from China and other Asia Pacific markets are other significant long-term challenges.
Following the landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed with China in June 2010, Taiwan in July 2013 signed a free trade deal with New Zealand – Taipei’s first-ever with a country with which it does not maintain diplomatic relations – and, in November of that year, inked a trade pact with Singapore. However, follow-on components of the ECFA, including a signed agreement on trade in services and negotiations on trade in goods and dispute resolution, have stalled. In early 2014, the government bowed to public demand and proposed a new law governing the oversight of cross-Strait agreements before any other deals with China are implemented; The legislature has yet to vote on such legislation, leaving the future of ECFA uncertain. Since taking office in May 2016, President TSAI has promoted greater economic integration with South and Southeast Asia through the New Southbound Policy initiative and has also expressed interest in Taiwan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership as well as bilateral trade deals with partners such as the US. These overtures have likely played a role in increasing Taiwan’s total exports, which rose 11% during the first half of 2017, buoyed by strong demand for semiconductors.
Taiwan’s total fertility rate of just over one 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 expected to account for nearly 20% of the island’s total population by 2025. The island runs a trade surplus with many economies, including China and the US. Its foreign reserves are the world’s fifth-largest, behind those of China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland. In 2006, China overtook 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. Taiwan, since 2009 has gradually loosened rules governing Chinese investment and has also secured greater market access for its investors on the mainland.
In August 2012, the Taiwan Central Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cross-Strait currency settlement with its Chinese counterpart. The MOU allows for the Chinese renminbi (RMB) and the New Taiwan dollar across the Strait, which has helped Taiwan develop into a local RMB hub. Closer economic links with the mainland bring opportunities for Taiwan’s economy and pose challenges as political differences remain unresolved, and China’s economic growth is slowing. President TSAI’s administration had made little progress on the domestic economic issues that loomed large when she was elected, including concerns about stagnant wages, high housing prices, youth unemployment, job security, and financial security in retirement. TSAI has made more progress on boosting trade with South and Southeast Asia, which may help insulate Taiwan’s economy from a fall in mainland demand should China’s growth slow in 2018.
Natural resources of Taiwan: small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, asbestos, arable land.
Main export partners for Taiwan, Southeast Asia are China 27.1%, Hong Kong 13.2%, US 10.3%, Japan 6.4%, Singapore 4.4% (2012 estimate) for semiconductors, petrochemicals, automobile/auto parts, ships, wireless communication equipment, flat display displays, steel, electronics, plastics, computers, while the main import partners for the country are: Japan 17.6%, China 16.1%, US 9.5% (2012 estimate) for oil/petroleum, semiconductors, natural gas, coal, steel, computers, wireless communication equipment, automobiles, fine chemicals, textiles.
When you visit this country in Southeast Asia, consider the natural hazards in Taiwan: Earthquakes, typhoonsvolcanism: Kueishantao Island (elevation 401 m), east of Taiwan, is its only historically active volcano, although it has not erupted in centuries, while infectious diseases are N/A. Also, note that Taiwan faces the following environmental issues: Air pollution, water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage, Contamination of drinking water supplies, Trade in endangered species, Low-level radioactive waste disposal.
You may also be interested in the countries next to Taiwan around its 0 km border – No border countries.