1. Officially the Republic of China (ROC) Is a state/ special administrative region in East Asia Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which makes up over 99% of its territory

2. Capital Taipei 2502N 12138E Largest city New Taipei City Official language(s) Mandarin Recognized regional languages Taiwanese Hakka Formosan languages Official Scripts Traditional Chinese 3. Demonym Taiwanese orChinese Government Unitary semi-presidential republic President Ma Ying-jeou Vice President Wu Den-yih Premier Sean Chen 4. The island of Taiwan lies some 180 kilometers off the southeastern coast of China, across the Taiwan Strait, and has an area of 35,883 km2 (13,855 sq mi). 5. The island is characterized by the contrast between the eastern two-thirds, consisting mostly of rugged mountains running in five ranges from the northern to the southern tip of the island Taiwan lies on the Tropic of Cancer, and its climate is marine tropical. The northern part of the island has a rainy season that lasts from January-March during the northeast monsoon, and experiences meiyu/plum rain in May. 6. Taiwans economic performance in 2010 surpassed expectations, registering nearly 11 percent growth. The administration of President Ma Ying- jeou has striven to transform Taiwan into a global innovation center, an Asia-Pacific economic and trade hub, and an operations center for overseas- based businesses. 7. Taiwan is a multi-ethnic society, where waves of settlement and encounters with other civilizations have bequeathed it a diverse cultural heritage. Taiwan today, while cross-cultural marriages involving more than 400,000 new immigrants have further enriched the islands cultural tapestry, making Taiwan an incubator of diverse art forms that not only coexist, but blend with or influence each other. 8. Religious pluralism and tolerance are hallmarks of social life in Taiwan Traditional beliefs, religious traditions from other parts of the world and recently developed religions are all practiced freely in Taiwan. Buddhism Taoism I-Kuan Tao Christianity Islam 9. Over 95 percent of Taiwans population is of Han Chinese ancestry, with the remainder composed of indigenous Austronesian peoples and recent immigrants. Han Taiwanese are the descendants of immigrants that arrived in two main wavesfirst, in the 17th century after the Manchu invasion of the main-land, and later, in 1949, when the ROC government relocated to the island. 10. According to May 2006 statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, the population of Taiwan was 22,805,547, 99.6% of which live on island of Taiwan, covered New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and the former Kaohsiung County), Taipei City and Kaohsiung City). 11. Taiwan is ranked the 50th most populous nation in the world. Rank Name Population 1 Island of Taiwan 18,590,635 2 Taipei City 2,620,693 3 Kaohsiung City 1,511,601 4 Outlying islands 82,618 Total 22,805,547 Taiwan is now an aging society, as the proportion of people aged 65 and older has been steadily increasing. In 1949, it was 2.5 percent of the population, and in 2010, 10.74 percent. 12. During 2004-2010 Taiwan's migration rate was positive. On average the annual net migration amounted to 22,000 people during that period, which is equivalent to a rate of 1.0 per 1000 inhabitants per year. Age range 1980 census 1990 census 2000 2010 014 years 32.1% 26.9% 21.2% 15.65% 1564 years 63.6% 67.0% 70.2% 73.61% 65 years and over 4.3% 6.1% 8.6% 10.74% 13. During 2004-2010 Taiwan's migration rate was positive. On average the annual net migration amounted to 22,000 people during that period, which is equivalent to a rate of 1.0 per 1000 inhabitants per year. Age range 1980 census 1990 census 2000 2010 014 years 32.1% 26.9% 21.2% 15.65% 1564 years 63.6% 67.0% 70.2% 73.61% 65 years and over 4.3% 6.1% 8.6% 10.74% 14. The fertility rate of Taiwan is one of the lowest fertility rates ever recorded in the world in historical times. It reached its lowest level in 2010: 0.90 children per female. In 1980, the rate was still well above replacement level (2.515), but it dropped to 1.88 in 1985, 1.81 in 1990, 1.78 in 1995, 1.68 in 2000, 1.12 in 2005. 15. Definition of literacy is those aged 15 and over who can read and write. The data below shows the literacy rate among Taiwanese people in the year 2012. Gender Population Male 99.6% Female 96.8% Total 98.2% at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2011 est.) 16. Taiwan has a developed capitalist economy that ranks as the 19th largest in the world by Purchasing power parity (PPP) Ranks as 18th in the world by gross domestic product(GDP) at purchasing power parity Per capita(person) and 24th in nominal GDP of investment and foreign trade by the Republic of China (ROC) 17. Taiwan's information technology industry has played an important role in the worldwide IT market over the last 20 years. The "e-Taiwan" project launched by the government seeks to use US$1.83 billion to improve the information and communications infrastructure in Taiwan in five major areas: government, life, business, transport, and broadband. 18. Due to the lack of natural resources on the island, Taiwan is forced to import many of its energy needs (currently at 98%). Imported energy totaled US$11.52 billion in 2002, accounting for 4.1% of its GDP. Taiwan is the world's 4th largest producer of solar-powered batteries and largest LED manufacturer by volume. 19. Taiwan and the Philippines are two geographically neighboring countries, separated by the Batanes and Luzon Strait. Taiwan and the Philippines share a lot of similarities in geography, history and culture and have the same values of freedom and democracy. Taiwan-Philippine bilateral trade volume reached US$7.035 billion in 2008. Taiwan was the N0.6 trading partner to the Philippines 20. The aggregated investment value from Taiwan amounted to US$1.841 billion up to September, 2008. Taiwan is the 7th largest foreign investment in the Philippines, Taiwanese tourists to the Philippines amounted to 118,782, sharing 3.78% of the total foreign visitors, making Taiwan the 6th largest tourist source country to the Philippines in 2008.