Taiwan
By Graham Floyd
Statistics
• Taiwan has a population of 22,191,087
people
• Average life expectancy is 76.35 years
• People are allowed to vote at the age of 20
• The population of Taiwan is divided in the
following way:
• 22% of people are 14 or younger
• 70% of people are 15 - 64 years old
• 8% of people are 65 or older
• Approximately 7.06 infants out of 1000
die at birth
• Taiwan has a literacy rate of 94%
Statistics
• Taiwan has a poverty rate of only 1%
• In Taiwan there are a total of about 12 million
phones, and about 10.2 million cellular
phones
• Taiwan has major drug
problems, including the overuse
of heroin and
methamphetamines
• One Taiwan national holiday
is the Anniversary of the
Chinese Revolution,
celebrated on October 10th
Geography
• Taiwan’s total area is 36,000 square
kilometers (about 13,900 square miles)
• The Chungyang Range of mountains
covers half of the total land area. It’s
elevation is 13,114 feet
• All rivers in Taiwan start in the
mountains. Taiwan’s longest river runs
116 miles
• 1/4 of Taiwan’s land area is suitable
for cultivation
• Taiwan’s climate is
tropical/suptropical, with an average of
160 inches of annual rainfall
• Taiwan suffers from bad pollution
problems
History
• Taiwan has been inhabited as
long as 10,000 years
• After World War II, Taiwan was
returned to the control of China
• In 1950, the United States sent
naval forces to defend Taiwan
from Chinese communist invasion
• During the 1960’s, Taiwan
experienced massive economic
growth due to funding from the
U.S.
• Taiwan was expelled from the
United Nations in 1971
Culture
• Most of Taiwan’s customs are taken from Chinese traditions
• Taiwan has many distinct arts, such as calligraphy, jade carving, and a large
movie industry
Economics
• Taiwan is very industrial and
export a large amount of
machinery and electronics.
Taiwan exported $120.3 billion
worth of goods in 1998
• Taiwan’s work force is 9
million strong
• Tourism in Taiwan averages at
about 2.3 million people every
year
• Many products are
manufactured in Taiwan,
including chemicals, metals,
and paper products
• Taiwan’s principle crop is rice
• A well-developed road and rail
network runs through Taiwan
Government
• Taiwan is a Republic
• Taiwan’s current president is Lee Teng-Hui
• Taiwan has a National Assembly, much like
our congress, currently with 316 members
• The government is separated into five
branches:
• Executive - the highest branch
• Legislative - laws
• Control - law enforcement
• Examination - survey and examination
• Judicial - court system
• Taiwan currently has three political
parties
• Kuomintang
• Democratic Progressive Party
• New Party