Taiwan Map

Who governs Taiwan, and who recognizes it

Taiwan is administered by the government of the Republic of China (ROC), which moved to Taipei in 1949 at the end of the Chinese Civil War. The People's Republic of China (PRC), governing the mainland from Beijing, claims Taiwan as part of its territory but has never controlled it. The ROC also governs the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait, Kinmen and Matsu just off the Fujian coast, and Pratas and Taiping (Itu Aba) islands in the South China Sea. The PRC has held China's seat at the United Nations since 1971, and most countries, including the United States and Japan, maintain formal relations with Beijing and unofficial ties with Taipei through trade and cultural offices. As of 2026 Taiwan has 12 diplomatic allies: Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu and the Holy See. The most recent to switch to Beijing was Nauru, in January 2024. Taiwan takes part in some international bodies under other names, such as "Chinese Taipei" at the Olympics and a separate customs territory in the World Trade Organization.

A mountain island with two very different coasts

The main island is about 394 kilometers long and 144 kilometers wide, and the Taiwan Strait separates it from Fujian by about 130 kilometers at the narrowest point. The territory covers about 36,000 square kilometers and has about 23.1 million people (UN World Population Prospects, 2025 estimate). Taiwan was pushed up where the Philippine Sea Plate meets the Eurasian Plate, and five parallel ranges, led by the Central Mountain Range, occupy about two-thirds of the island. More than 200 peaks exceed 3,000 meters, and Yushan (Jade Mountain), at 3,952 meters, is higher than any mountain in Japan or Korea. On the east side the mountains drop almost straight into the Pacific, cut by marble gorges such as Taroko near Hualien. The west slopes gently to the Chianan and other coastal plains, where most people live and farm. Rivers are short and fast; the longest, the Zhuoshui, runs about 186 kilometers. The Tropic of Cancer crosses the island near Chiayi. Earthquakes are frequent: the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake killed about 2,400 people, and a magnitude 7.4 quake struck Hualien in April 2024.

Typhoons, plum rains and when to go

Most of Taiwan has a humid subtropical climate, with the far south tropical and the high mountains cold enough for winter snow. The "plum rain" season brings heavy showers in May and June, and typhoons arrive mainly from July to September. In winter the northeast monsoon keeps Keelung and Yilan grey and wet while the southwest stays dry and sunny. October to December and March to April are the most pleasant months to visit.

Municipalities and Major Cities

Taiwan has six special municipalities, 13 counties and three provincial cities (Keelung, Hsinchu and Chiayi). The six municipalities hold about 70 percent of the population. City figures below are 2025 household-registration counts, rounded:

• New Taipei - About 4.0 million, the most populous city, which wraps around Taipei on three sides
• Taichung - About 2.9 million, the main city of central Taiwan and a center for machinery and bicycle making
• Kaohsiung - About 2.7 million, the chief port and heavy-industry city of the southwest
• Taipei - About 2.5 million, the seat of government, home of the National Palace Museum and of Taipei 101, the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2010
• Taoyuan - About 2.3 million, site of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
• Tainan - About 1.9 million, the oldest city, founded around the Dutch Fort Zeelandia and the island's capital until the late 19th century
• Hsinchu - About 450,000 in the city, home of the Hsinchu Science Park and TSMC's headquarters

The high-speed rail line opened in 2007 runs down the west coast from Taipei to Kaohsiung in about 90 minutes.

A layered history

Austronesian peoples lived on Taiwan for thousands of years before Chinese settlement, and 16 indigenous groups are officially recognized today. The Dutch held the southwest from 1624 until Ming loyalist Koxinga expelled them in 1662. The Qing dynasty ruled from 1683 and ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895, and Japanese rule lasted until 1945, when the ROC took over. After the 228 Incident of 1947 and the government's retreat from the mainland, Taiwan lived under martial law from 1949 to 1987. It held its first direct presidential election in 1996; Lai Ching-te has been president since May 2024.

Economy and everyday life

Taiwan's economy runs on electronics. TSMC is the world's largest contract chipmaker and produces most of the world's most advanced processors, and Taiwanese firms assemble a large share of the world's servers and laptops. GDP per capita was about US$39,500 in 2025 (DGBAS estimate). Mandarin is the main language of government and education, and a 2019 law recognized Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, the indigenous languages and Taiwanese Sign Language as national languages. Most religious practice mixes Buddhism, Taoism and folk religion. Taiwan introduced universal National Health Insurance in 1995, became the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in May 2019, and is credited with inventing bubble tea in the 1980s, now sold at night markets across the island.