World Factbook
Taiwan
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Flag
description: red field with a dark blue rectangle in the upper-left corner, bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays meaning: blue stands for liberty, justice, and democracy; red for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism; white for equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood; the 12 rays represent the months of the year and the traditional Chinese hours (each ray equals two hours) history: the blue-and-white design of the canton (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates to 1895
note: similar to the flag of Samoa
Capital
name
Taipei
etymology
the name means "Northern Taiwan," from the Chinese words tai (a short form of Taiwan) and bei (north), reflecting the city's position in the far north of the island
time difference
UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
geographic coordinates
25 02 N, 121 31 E
Suffrage
20 years of age; universal
Citizenship
citizenship by birth
no
citizenship by descent only
at least one parent must be a citizen of Taiwan
dual citizenship recognized
yes, except that citizens of Taiwan are not recognized as dual citizens of the People's Republic of China
residency requirement for naturalization
5 years
Constitution
history
previous 1912, 1931; latest adopted 25 December 1946, promulgated 1 January 1947, effective 25 December 1947
amendment process
proposed by at least one fourth of the Legislative Yuan membership; passage requires approval by at least three-fourths majority vote of at least three fourths of the Legislative Yuan membership and approval in a referendum by more than half of eligible voters
Country name
former
Formosa
etymology
the name may derive from the Chinese words tai (terrace) and wan (bay), referring to the island's terrain; in 1590, the Portuguese named it Formosa, meaning "beautiful"
local long form
none
local short form
Taiwan
conventional long form
none
conventional short form
Taiwan
Legal system
civil law system
Government type
semi-presidential republic
Judicial branch
highest court(s)
Supreme Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and approximately 100 judges organized into civil and criminal panels, each with a chief justice and 4 associate justices); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 13 justices)
subordinate courts
high courts; district courts; hierarchy of administrative courts
judge selection and term of office
Supreme Court justices appointed for life by the president; Constitutional Court justices appointed by the president, with approval of the Legislative Yuan, for 8-year terms, with half the membership renewed every 4 years
Executive branch
cabinet
Executive Yuan; ministers appointed by president on recommendation of premier
chief of state
President LAI Ching-te (since 20 May 2024)
election results
2024: LAI Ching-te elected president; percent of vote - LAI Ching-te (DPP) 40.1%, HOU Yu-ih (KMT) 33.5%, KO Wen-je (TPP) 26.5%) 2020: TSAI Ing-wen reelected president; percent of vote - TSAI Ing-wen (DPP) 57.1%, HAN Kuo-yu (KMT) 38.6%, James SOONG (PFP) 4.3%
head of government
Premier CHO Jung-tai (President of the Executive Yuan) (since 20 May 2024)
most recent election date
13 January 2024
election/appointment process
president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by simple-majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier
expected date of next election
2028
National holiday
Republic Day (National Day), 10 October (1911)
note: celebrates the anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, also known as Double Ten (10-10) Day
National color(s)
blue, white, red
Political parties
Democratic Progressive Party or DPP Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) Taiwan People's Party or TPP
note: the DPP and the KMT are the two major political parties; more than 30 parties garnered votes in the 2024 election
Legislative branch
term in office
4 years
number of seats
113 (directly elected)
electoral system
plurality/majority
legislature name
Legislative Yuan
scope of elections
full renewal
legislative structure
unicameral
most recent election date
13 January 2024
expected date of next election
January 2028
percentage of women in chamber
41.6%
parties elected and seats per party
Kuomintang (KMT) 52, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) 51, Taiwan People's Party (TPP) 8, independent 2
National anthem(s)
title
"Zhonghua Minguo guoge" (National Anthem of the Republic of China)
history
adopted 1937; also the song of the Kuomintang Party; informally known as "San Min Chu I" or "San Min Zhu Yi" (Three Principles of the People); the anthem is banned from performance in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau
lyrics/music
HU Han-min, TAI Chi-t'ao, and LIAO Chung-k'ai/CHENG Mao-yun
National symbol(s)
white sun with 12 rays on a blue field
Administrative divisions
includes main island of Taiwan, plus smaller islands nearby and off coast of China's Fujian Province; Taiwan is divided into 13 counties ( xian , singular and plural), 3 cities ( shi , singular and plural), and 6 special municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan counties: Changhua, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Hualien, Kinmen, Lienchiang, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taitung, Yilan, Yunlin cities: Chiayi, Hsinchu, Keelung special municipalities: Kaohsiung (city), New Taipei (city), Taichung (city), Tainan (city), Taipei (city), Taoyuan (city)
note: Taiwan uses a variety of romanization systems for names; a modified Wade-Giles system still dominates, but the city of Taipei has adopted a Pinyin romanization for street and place names; other local authorities use different romanization systems
Diplomatic representation in the US
note
Note : commercial and cultural relations with its citizens in the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), a private nonprofit corporation that performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts, represented by Ambassador Alexander YUI (since 11 December 2023); office: 4201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016; telephone: [1] (202) 895-1800; fax: [1] (202) 363-0999
chief of mission
none
Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices (branch offices)
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver (CO), Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC
Diplomatic representation from the US
FAX
[886] 2-2162-2251
telephone
[886] 2-2162-2000
other offices
Kaohsiung (Branch Office)
mailing address
4170 AIT Taipei Place, Washington DC 20521-4170
branch office(s)
American Institute in Taiwan No. 100, Jinhu Road, Neihu District 11461, Taipei City
chief of mission
the US does not have an embassy in Taiwan; commercial and cultural relations with the people of Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a private nonprofit corporation that performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts; it is managed by Director Raymond F. GREENE (since 8 July 2024)
email address and website
TaipeiACS@state.gov https://www.ait.org.tw/
International organization participation
ADB (Chinese Taipei), APEC (Chinese Taipei), BCIE, CABEI, IOC, ITUC (NGOs), SICA (observer), WTO (Chinese Taipei)
note: separate customs territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt