Taiwan ! What an awsome country.
If
you haven't discovered Taiwan yet,
let us help you get to
know this incredible country.
Background: 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 1946 constitution drawn up for
all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities
gradually democratized and incorporated the native 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 eventual unification - as well as domestic political and
economic reform.
Area: total:
35,980 sq km -
land: 32,260 sq km -
water:
3,720 sq km
Climate:
tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to
August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year
Population:
22,749,838 (July 2004 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 19.9% (male 2,359,467; female
2,167,438)
15-64 years: 70.7% (male 8,149,231; female 7,924,774)
65 years and over: 9.4% (male 1,091,473; female
1,057,455) (2004 est.)
Religious
affiliation: mixture of Buddhist, Confucian,
and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
Ethnic
Groups: Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%,
mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%
Languages:
Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min),
Hakka dialects
Economy: Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist
economy with gradually decreasing
guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In
keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and
industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the
primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is
substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest.
Agriculture contributes 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. While Taiwan
is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia, China has become the
largest destination for investment and has overtaken the US to become
Taiwan's largest export market. Because of its conservative financial
approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little
compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in
1998.
The global economic downturn, combined with problems in policy
coordination by the administration and bad debts in the banking system,
pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first year of negative growth
ever recorded. Unemployment also reached record levels. Output
recovered moderately in 2002 in the face of continued global slowdown,
fragile consumer confidence, and bad bank loans. Growing economic ties
with China are a dominant long-term factor. Exports to China - mainly
parts and equipment for the assembly of goods for export to developed
countries - drove Taiwan's economic recovery in 2002. Although the SARS
epidemic, Typhoon Maemi, corporate scandals, and a drop in consumer
spending caused GDP growth to contract to 3.2% in 2003, increasingly
strong export performance kept Taiwan's economy on track, and the
government expects Taiwan's economy to grow 4.1% in 2004.
Labor force by
occupation: agriculture 7.5%, industry 35%,
services 57% (2001 est.)
Industries: Japan
24.2%, US 16.1%, China 7.1%, South Korea 6.9% (2002)
Natural Hazzards:
earthquakes and typhoons
Natural
Resources: small deposits of coal, natural gas,
limestone, marble, and asbestos
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
Export
Partners: Japan 24.2%, US 16.1%, China 7.1%,
South Korea 6.9% (2002)
Communications:
Regular - 13.355 million (2003)
Mobile / Cell - 25,089,600 (2003)
Radio Broadcasting Stations - AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999)
Television Broadcasting Stations - 29 (plus two repeaters) (1997)
Internet Country Code - .tw
Internet Users - 8.83 million (2003)
