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Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of 35,808 square kilometers (13,826 square miles), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consist of 168 islands in total covering 36,193 square kilometers (13,974 square miles). The largest metropolitan area is formed by Taipei (the capital), New Taipei City, and Keelung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries.

Taiwan has been settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors of Taiwanese indigenous peoples settled the island around 6,000 years ago. In the 17th century, large-scale Han Chinese immigration began under Dutch colonial rule and continued under the Kingdom of Tungning, the first predominantly Han Chinese state in Taiwanese history. The island was annexed in 1683 by the Qing dynasty and ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895. The Republic of China, which had overthrown the Qing in 1912 under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, assumed control following the surrender of Japan in World War II. With the loss of mainland China to the Communists in the Chinese Civil War, the government of the Republic of China moved to Taiwan in 1949 under the Kuomintang (KMT).

From the early 1960s, Taiwan saw rapid economic growth and industrialization known as the "Taiwan Miracle". In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the ROC transitioned from a one-party state under martial law to a multi-party democracy, with democratically elected presidents beginning in 1996. Taiwan's export-oriented economy is the 21st-largest in the world by nominal GDP and the 20th-largest by PPP measures, with a focus on steel, machinery, electronics, and chemicals manufacturing. Taiwan is a developed country. It is ranked highly in terms of civil liberties, healthcare, and human development.

The political and international status of Taiwan is contentious. Despite being a founding member, the ROC no longer represents China as a member of the United Nations after UN members voted in 1971 to recognize the PRC instead. The ROC maintained its claim to be the sole legitimate representative of China and its territory until 1991, when it ceased to regard the Chinese Communist Party as a rebellious group and acknowledged its control over mainland China. Taiwan is claimed by the PRC, which refuses to establish diplomatic relations with countries that recognize the ROC. Taiwan maintains official diplomatic relations with 11 out of 193 UN member states and the Holy See. Many others maintain unofficial diplomatic ties through representative offices and institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates. International organizations in which the PRC participates either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate on a non-state basis. Domestically, the major political contention is between the Pan-Blue Coalition, which favors eventual Chinese unification under the ROC and promoting a pan-Chinese identity, contrasted with the Pan-Green Coalition, which favors eventual Taiwan independence and promoting a Taiwanese identity; in the 21st century, both sides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal. (Full article...)

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Earthquake damage in Dali District, Taichung

The Chi-Chi earthquake (later also known as the Jiji earthquake, 921 Earthquake, or the great earthquake of September 21), was a 7.3 M_L or 7.7 M_w earthquake which occurred in Jiji (Chi-Chi), Nantou County, Taiwan on September 21, 1999, at 01:47:12 local time. 2,415 people were killed, 11,305 injured, and NT$300 billion worth of damage was done. It is the second-deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history, after the 1935 Shinchiku-Taichū earthquake.

Rescue groups from around the world joined local relief workers and the Taiwanese military in digging out survivors, clearing rubble, restoring essential services and distributing food and other aid to the more than 100,000 people made homeless by the quake. The disaster, dubbed the "Quake of the Century" by the local media, had a profound effect on the economy of the island and the consciousness of the people, and dissatisfaction with the government's performance in reacting to it was cited by a Taiwanese sociologist as a factor in the unseating of the ruling Kuomintang party in the 2000 presidential election. (Full article...)

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S.H.E in 2014
L-R: Hebe Tien, Ella Chen, and Selina Jen

S.H.E are a Taiwanese Mandopop girl group with members Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. They formed in 2001 under the management of HIM International Music but decided not to renew their contract in 2019, with members forming their own individual management companies.

S.H.E achieved commercial success in the 2000s and has remained active for more than a decade. Since releasing their debut album Girls' Dorm (2001), the group has recorded 13 albums with sales totaling more than 10 million, and set ticketing records in each of their two concert tours. They have also acted in seven drama series, hosted two variety shows, and contributed ten songs to six drama soundtracks. (Full article...)

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The East Gate of the historical walled city of Taipei

Photo credit: User:Jiang

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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

You Are the Apple of My Eye (Chinese: 那些年，我們一起追的女孩, lit. 'Those Years, The Girl We Went After Together') is a 2011 Taiwanese coming-of-age romance film. It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Taiwanese author Giddens Ko, who also made his directorial debut with the film. The film stars Ko Chen-tung as Ko Ching-teng, a prankster and a mischievous student who eventually becomes a writer. Michelle Chen stars as Shen Chia-yi, an honor student who is very popular amongst the boys in her class.

You Are the Apple of My Eye was filmed almost entirely on location in Changhua County, including at the high school Giddens attended. The lyrics of "Those Years", the film's main theme, were written by Giddens. The song, which was well received by the public, was nominated for Best Original Film Song at the 48th Golden Horse Awards. (Full article...)

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Acer's logo since 2011.

... that Acer (pictured) is ranked as one of the world's top five branded PC vendors and has a history dating to 1976?

... that Taipei was the first city in the world to roll out a city-wide Wi-Fi network with 4,000 hot spots serving a city population of 2.6 million?

... that the 2006 Hengchun earthquake (6.7 Richter scale) off the southwest coast of Taiwan damaged several submarine communications cables resulting in severe disruptions to telecommunication services including Internet access to many East and Southeast Asian countries?

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General images

The following are images from various Taiwan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Original geographic distributions of Taiwanese aboriginal peoples (from History of Taiwan)
Image 2The Capture of Lin Shuangwen (from History of Taiwan)
Image 3Takasago Volunteers in October 1944 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 4The Imperial Guard Defeats the Enemy in Hard Fighting at Keelung on the Island of Taiwan, 1895 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 5Kagi Shrine, one of many Shinto shrines built in Taiwan. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 6Woodcut of the mass killings which took place during the February 28 Incident (from History of Taiwan)
Image 7Bunun dancer in traditional aboriginal dress (1989) (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 8Apo Hsu and the NTNU Symphony Orchestra on stage in the National Concert Hall in Taipei and Play Saint-Saens's Organ Symphony No. 3 (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 9Evacuation of Keelung by the French forces, image created 1887 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 10Bird's eye view of Fort Zeelandia in Dutch Formosa in the 17th-century (from History of Taiwan)
Image 11The Dharmachakra represents the Noble Eightfold Path. (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 12Section of a painting depicting daily life of the Taokas people, 1684–1722 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 13The original flag of the Taiwanese People's Party, 2 January 1929 – 6 October 1929 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 14Map showing the Revolt of the Three Feudatories (1673–1681) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 15An example of a text message sent through the Line app, featuring sticker options. (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 16Photo from Savages of Formosa, a 1926 government report on tribal life in Taiwan (from History of Taiwan)
Image 17Shi Lang (1621–1696) in an 18th-century painting (from History of Taiwan)
Image 18A map of the Empire of Japan including Taiwan ("barbarian land" in red) in 1895 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 19The Qing Empire in 1820, with provinces in yellow, military governorates and protectorates in light yellow, tributary states in orange. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 20Chinese depiction of Chikan (Fort Provintia), 1752 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 21Zheng Keshuang (from History of Taiwan)
Image 22Taiwan in the 17th century, showing Dutch (magenta) and Spanish (green) possessions, and the Kingdom of Middag (orange) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 23Depiction of Qing ships crossing the ocean to suppress the Lin Shuangwen rebellion, 1787–1788 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 24Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty in 1734 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 25Penghu next to Taiwan (from History of Taiwan)
Image 26Taichung Middle School in 1919 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 271901 map with red line marking approximate boundary separating territory under actual Japanese administration from "Savage District" (from History of Taiwan)
Image 28Section of Kangxi period painting of Taiwan, 1684–1722 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 29Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at the Cairo Conference in Cairo, 25 November 1943. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 30Two 7-Eleven stores opposite each other on a crossroad. Taiwan has the highest density of 7-Eleven stores per person in the world (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 31Map of Taiwan with the western coast pointed downwards, c. 1640 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 32Territory controlled by Koxinga, founder of the Kingdom of Tungning (from History of Taiwan)
Image 33Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty in 1685 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 34Entrance hall of a K-TV in Taipei (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 35Statue of Chen Di in Lianjiang County (from History of Taiwan)
Image 36Siege of Fort Zeelandia (from History of Taiwan)
Image 37Map of Asia showing the "Chinese Empire" (1892) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 38Depiction of a Chinese man, woman, and soldier, by Georg Franz Müller (1646–1723) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 39Yin and Yang symbol of Taoism (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 40Japanese painting of the expedition forces attacking the Mudan tribe, 1874 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 41Portrait of Zheng Jing (1642–1681), possibly 17th c. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 42Mid-17th century portrait of Koxinga (Guoxingye or "Kok seng ia" in southern Fujianese), "Lord of the Imperial Surname" (from History of Taiwan)
Image 43Conquest of Douliumen (Zhuluo) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 44Population density map of Taiwan in 2019 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 45Severed heads of Seediq rebels (from History of Taiwan)
Image 46Departure of a Ryukyuan ship bearing tribute to Beijing, 1831 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 47Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty by 1894 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 48Pearl milk tea (from Culture of Taiwan)

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In the news

28 July 2026 –: Taiwanese prosecutors detain an Nvidia employee in an investigation into alleged smuggling of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China through falsified transport documents. Authorities hold seven people over shipments of about 50 Supermicro servers that may violate U.S. export controls. (AFP via France 24)
16 July 2026 – Papua New Guinea–Taiwan relations: Taiwan says that its representative office in Port Moresby will continue operating and assisting Taiwanese nationals, rejecting Papua New Guinea's decision to close it and stating that the move was made without prior consultation. Papuan foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko says that his ministry informed Taiwan of the closure "weeks ago". (AFP via The Straits Times)
15 July 2026 – Papua New Guinea–Taiwan relations: Papuan foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko announces the immediate closure of Taiwan's representative office in Port Moresby, citing Papua New Guinea's adherence to the One China policy, while saying the decision does not affect contracts between Taiwan's CPC Corporation and natural gas in Papua New Guinea. (AFP via The Straits Times)

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Administrative divisions

The Republic of China government governs 22 administrative divisions
The administrative divisions presently consist of 13 counties, 6 special municipalities and three cities.


Chiayi City	Chiayi County	Changhua County	Hsinchu City	Hsinchu County

Hualian County	Kaohsiung City	Keelung City	Kinmen Country	Lienchang County

Miaoli County	Nantou County	New Taipei City	Penghu County	Pingtung County

Taichung City	Tainan City	Taipei City	Taitung County	Taoyuan City

Yilan County	Yunlin County

Related portals

East Asia

Southeast Asia

Portals listed here are related to Taiwan by way of history, Asian region, diplomatic relations with ROC, and significant diaspora of overseas Taiwanese

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