Taiwan

Country	Taiwan
Flag
Capital	name: Taipei geographic coordinates: 25 03 N, 121 30 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Population	22,974,347 (July 2009 est.)
GMT	+8
Location	Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China
Area	total: 35,980 sq km land: 32,260 sq km water: 3,720 sq km note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy islands
Ethnic groups	Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, indigenous 2%
Religions	mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
Languages	Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
Government type	multiparty democracy
National holiday	Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911)
Constitution	25 December 1947; amended in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005 note: constitution adopted on 25 December 1946; went into effect on 25 December 1947
Legal system	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Background	In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the local population within the governing structure. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of Taiwan's eventual status - as well as domestic political and economic reform.
Internet country code	.tw