Taiwan

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Taiwan is a mountainous island located about 100 miles off the coast of China, in the western Pacific Ocean between the East and South China Seas. Taiwan is about one-third the size of Ohio. Its capital is Taipei.

Taiwan’s population has reached 23 million. Approximately 84 percent of the population are native Taiwanese, descended from Chinese immigrants of the early 19th century. Mainland Chinese make up 14 percent of the population, and 2 percent of its people are non-Chinese aborigine.

The official language of Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese. Residents also speak Min Nan Chinese (Taiwanese) and Hakka dialects.

Over 90 percent of the population practice a mix of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist religions.  A smaller percentage practice Christianity and other religions.

Taiwan’s government is a multiparty democracy. It operates under the constitution adopted in 1946. The president serves as head of government.  Under the president are 5 councils, or yuans: legislative, executive, judicial, examination and control.

The unit of currency is the Taiwan dollar.

Web Sites

• Asian American Net: Taiwan
• BBC Country Profiles
• CDC Travelers’ Health Information:  Taiwan
• Embassy Information:  Taiwan
• NationMaster:  Taiwan
• Government Information Office, Republic of China (Taiwan)

Catalog

Search the library's catalog for Taiwan.

Databases

Enter Taiwan in these databases:

• Europa World Year Book
• Gale Virtual Reference Library
• eLibrary