:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
earthquakes and typhoons

Environment - current issues:
air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions, raw
sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in
endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal

Environment - international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's
international status
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of
Taiwan's international status

Geography - note:
strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon
Strait

People Taiwan

Population:
22,749,838 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 19.9% (male 2,359,467; female 2,167,438)
15-64 years: 70.7% (male 8,149,231; female 7,924,774)
65 years and over: 9.4% (male 1,091,473; female 1,057,455) (2004
est.)

Median age:
total: 33.7 years
male: 33.3 years
female: 34.1 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.64% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
12.7 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.52 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.06 years
male: 74.31 years
female: 80.08 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.57 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Chinese/Taiwanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese/Taiwanese

Ethnic groups:
Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%

Religions:
mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%,
other 2.5%

Languages:
Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1% (2003)

Government Taiwan

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Taiwan
local short form: T'ai-wan
local lon