_#_Maritime claims:

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with
China, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam; Paracel Islands occupied by
China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; Japanese-administered
Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan

_#_Climate: tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon
(June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year

_#_Terrain: eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently
rolling plains in west

_#_Natural resources: small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone,
marble, and asbestos

_#_Land use: arable land 24%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
5%; forest and woodland 55%; other 15%; irrigated 14%

_#_Environment: subject to earthquakes and typhoons

_*_People
_#_Population: 20,658,702 (July 1991), growth rate 1.1% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 16 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (19901

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Chinese (sing., pl.); adjective--Chinese

_#_Ethnic divisions: Taiwanese 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%

_#_Religion: mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%,
Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%

_#_Language: Mandarin Chinese (official); Taiwanese and Hakka dialects
also used

_#_Literacy: 91.2% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990)

_#_Labor force: 7,900,000; industry and commerce 53%, services 22%,
agriculture 15.6%, civil administration 7% (1989)

_#_Organized labor: 1,300,000 or about 18.4% (government controlled)
(1983)

_*_Administration
_#_Long-form name: none

_#_Type: one-party presidential regime; opposition political parties
legalized in March, 1989

_#_Capital: Taipei

_#_Administrative divisions: the authorities in Taipei claim to be the
government of all China; in keeping with that claim, the central
administrative divisions include 2 provinces (sheng, singular and plural)
and 2 municipalities* (shih, singular and plural)--Fu-chien (some 20
offshore islands of Fujian Province including Quemoy and Matsu),
Kao-hsiung*