1992 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1992 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year
Coastline
1,448 km
Comparative area
slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
Disputes
involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan
Environment
subject to earthquakes and typhoons
Exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Land area
32,260 km2; includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy
Land boundaries
none
Land use
arable land 24%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 5%; forest and woodland 55%; other 15%; irrigated 14%
Natural resources
small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos
Terrain
eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
35,980 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
16 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate
5 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Ethnic divisions
Taiwanese 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%
Infant mortality rate
6 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Labor force
7,900,000; industry and commerce 53%, services 22%, agriculture 15.6%, civil administration 7% (1989)
Languages
Mandarin Chinese (official); Taiwanese (Miu) and Hakka dialects also used
Life expectancy at birth
72 years male, 78 years female (1992)
Literacy
91.2% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Nationality
noun - Chinese (singular and plural); adjective - Chinese
Net migration rate
NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Organized labor
2,728,000 or about 44% (1991)
Population
20,878,556 (July 1992), growth rate 1.0% (1992)
Religions
mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
Total fertility rate
1.8 children born/woman (1992)
Government
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
Capital
Taipei
Chief of State
President LI Teng-hui (since 13 January 1988); Vice President LI Yuan-zu (since 20 May 1990)
Constitution
25 December 1947, presently undergoing revision
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, Hsiu Yi Road, Section 3, 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
Executive branch
president, vice president, premier of the Executive Yuan, vice premier of the Executive Yuan, Executive Yuan
Flag
red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays
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)
Judicial branch
Judicial Yuan
Legal system
based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch
unicameral Legislative Yuan, unicameral National Assembly
Legislative Yuan
last held 2 December 1989 (next to be held NA December 1992); results - KMT 65%, DPP 33%, independents 2%; seats - (304 total, 102 elected) KMT 78, DPP 21, independents 3
Long-form name
none
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; APEC, AsDB, ICC, ICFTU, IOC
National Assembly
first National Assembly elected in November 1947 with a supplementary election in December 1986; second National Assembly elected in December 1991
National holiday
National Day (Anniversary of the Revolution), 10 October (1911)
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
President
last held 21 March 1990 (next to be held NA March 1996); results - President LI Teng-hui was reelected by the National Assembly
Suffrage
universal at age 20
Type
multiparty democratic regime; opposition political parties legalized in March, 1989
Vice President
last held 21 March 1990 (next to be held NA March 1996); results - LI Yuan-zu was elected by the National Assembly
Economy
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)
Budget
revenues $30.3 billion; expenditures $30.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)
Currency
New Taiwan dollar (plural - dollars); 1 New Taiwan dollar (NT$) = 100 cents
Economic aid
US, including Ex-Im (FY46-82), $4.6 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $500 million
Electricity
17,000,000 kW capacity; 76,900 million kWh produced, 3,722 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates
New Taiwan dollars per US$1 - 25.000 (February 1992), 25.748 (1991), 27.108 (1990), 26.407 (1989) 28.589 (1988), 31.845 (1987)
Exports
$67.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: electrical machinery 18.2%, textiles 15.6%, 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)
External debt
$1.1 billion (December 1990 est.)
Fiscal year
1 July - 30 June
GNP
purchasing power equivalent - $150.8 billion, per capita $7,380; real growth rate 5.2% (1990)
Imports
$54.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: machinery and equipment 15.3%, basic metals 13.0%, chemical and chemical products 11.1%, crude oil 5%, foodstuffs 2.2% (1989) partners: Japan 31%, US 23%, FRG 5% (1989)
Industrial production
growth rate 6.5% (1991 est.)
Industries
electronics, textiles, chemicals, clothing, food processing, plywood, sugar milling, cement, shipbuilding, petroleum
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
4.1% (1990); 3.8% (1991 est.)
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. Taiwan has become a major investor in China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. The tightening of labor markets has led to an influx of foreign workers, both legal and illegal.
Unemployment rate
1.7% (1990); 1.5% (1991 est.)
Communications
Airports
40 total, 39 usable; 36 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
Highways
20,041 km total; 17,095 km bituminous or concrete pavement, 2,371 km crushed stone or gravel, 575 km graded earth
Merchant marine
213 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,491,539 GRT/9,082,118 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 42 cargo, 15 refrigerated cargo, 73 container, 17 petroleum tanker, 3 combination ore/oil, 1 specialized tanker, 58 bulk, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 2 combination bulk
Pipelines
petroleum products 615 km, natural gas 97 km
Ports
Kao-hsiung, Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Su-ao, T'ai-tung
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 was completed in late 1991; 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
Telecommunications
best developed system in Asia outside of Japan; 7,800,000 telephones; extensive microwave transmission links on east and west coasts; broadcast stations - 91 AM, 23 FM, 15 TV (13 repeaters); 8,620,000 radios; 6,386,000 TVs (5,680,000 color, 706,000 monochrome); satellite 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
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, Taiwan General Garrison Headquarters, Ministry of National Defense
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $9.16 billion, 4.5% of GNP (FY92)
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 5,982,717; 4,652,586 fit for military service; about 180,706 currently reach military age (19) annually