Demographics of Taiwan

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Taiwan's population was estimated in July 2007 at 22,858,872 ^[1] spread across a total land area of 35,980 km², making it the fourteenth most densely populated country in the world with a population density of 635 people per km². According to official governmental statistics, 98% of Taiwan's population is made up of Han Chinese, while 2% are Taiwanese aborigines. Half the population are followers of one or a mixture of 25 recognized religions. Around 93% of the religious population are followers of a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, while a minority 4.5% are followers of Christianity.

Taiwan is suffering from a decline in birth rates with a population growth of just 0.30% and a fertility rate of 1.12 children (below the 2.1 births average needed to replace the existing population) for the year 2007. The official national language is Mandarin, although a majority also speak Taiwanese (variant of Min Nan; a Fujian dialect) and Hakka. Japanese speakers are becoming rare as the elderly generation who lived under Japanese rule are dying out. Aboriginal languages are gradually becoming extinct as the aborigines have become acculturated despite a program by the ROC government to preserve the languages.

Contents 1 Nationality 2 Ethnic groups 2.1 Aborigine 2.2 Taiwanese 3 Languages 4 Religion 4.1 Statistics on registered religions (2002) 5 Population 5.1 Age structure 5.2 Sex ratio 5.3 Foreign residents 5.4 Net migration rate 6 Life expectancy at birth 7 Births & Deaths 7.1 Population growth rate 7.2 Fertility rate 7.3 Birth rate 7.4 Infant mortality rate 7.5 Death rate 8 HIV/AIDS 9 Military manpower 9.1 Available manpower 9.2 Fit for military service 10 Education 10.1 Distribution of students 10.2 Literacy 11 See also 12 References

[edit] Nationality

Main article: Political status of Taiwan

The people of Taiwan are officially Chinese citizens under the Republic of China government and the majority of the population are regarded as ethnic Han descent from the adjacent Fujian province in mainland China. Despite this, there is a tendency for citizens to identify themselves as Taiwanese (臺灣人 Táiwānrén) to clarify that they are citizen of Republic of China (ROC), not a citizen of the People's Republic of China (PRC) (大陸人 Dālùrén; "mainlander/people from the continent").

[edit] Ethnic groups

Main article: List of ethnic groups in Taiwan

Overview: Han 98% (Taiwanese 84% including Hoklo 70% and Hakka 14%; remainder 15% mainland Chinese), aborigine 2% (13 recognized tribes)

Officially, the population of Taiwan consist of 98% Han Chinese, of which 84% identify as Taiwanese while 15% are recent immigrants. The remainder 2% are aborigines (less than 500,000). A confounding factor is intermarriage between ethnic group, including aborigine groups.

[edit] Aborigine

Main article: Taiwanese aborigines

The total population of aborigines was estimated in May 2006 to be 468,602 which is about 2% of the total population of Taiwan. The aborigines inhabit the eastern half of Taiwan which consists mostly of mountainous terrain.

Living in the Eastern plains	Male	Female
220,513 (47.1%)	111,372	109,141
Living in the mountains	Male	Female
248,089 (52.9%)	122,016	126,073
468,602	233,388	235,214

Note: Source data obtained from ROC Ministry of the Interior website (Spreadsheet data: m1-04.xls)

The ROC government officially recognizes thirteen aborigine tribes (原住民; yuánzhùmín; literally "original inhabitants"). These are: Ami, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Tao (Yami), Thao, Kavalan, Truku, and Sakizaya. Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan classified and recognized nine tribes based on linguistic and cultural data, this criteria was modified and included in the official R.O.C. ethnographies of Taiwanese people. The Thao, Kavalan, Truku, and Sakiazya tribes were recognized much later in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2007 respectively by the ROC government. There are at least another dozen tribes that are not recognized by the government.

Tribe	Chinese transliteration	Meaning of tribal name	Population
Ami	阿美族 (Āměi-zú)	"North"	148,992
Atayal	泰雅族 {Tàiyǎ-zú)	"Brave person"	91,883
Bunun	布農族 (Bùnóng-zú)	n/a	41,038
Paiwan	排灣族 (Páiwān-zú)	n/a	70,331
Puyuma	卑南族 (Bēinán-zú)	n/a	9,606
Rukai	魯凱族 (Lǔkǎi-zú)	n/a	12,084
Tsou	鄒族 (Zōu-zú)	n/a	6,169
Saisiyat	賽夏族 (Sàixià-zú)	n/a	5,311
Tao	達悟族 (Dáwù-zú)	"Person"	3,872
Thao	邵族 (Shào-zú)	n/a	281
Kavalan	噶瑪蘭族 (Gámǎlán-zú)	"People living in the plain"	n/a
Truku	太魯閣族 (Tàilùgé-zú)	n/a	n/a
Sakizaya	撒奇萊雅族 (Sāqíláiyǎ-zú)	n/a	n/a

[edit] Taiwanese

Main article: Taiwanese people

98% of Taiwanese are of Han descent. Approximately two-thirds of those are descendants of early immigrants (70% of ethnic Hoklo and 15% of ethnic Hakka) from the adjacent Fujian (Hokkien) and Guangdong (Canton) province who crossed the Taiwan Strait to work for the Dutch during the 17th century. Many settlers intermarried with Plains Aborigines. Both Hakka and Hoklo speakers regard themselves as 'native' Taiwanese (本省人 Běnshěngrén; literally "home-province person") and consider the Chinese immigrants displaced from their homes in China during the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949) as 'Mainlanders' (外省人 Wàishěngrén; literally "external-province person").

There is some tension between the "Taiwanese" and "Mainlander" groups in Taiwan, with the former slightly more supportive of full independence, while the latter are somewhat more supportive of some form of unification with mainland China.

[edit] Languages

Main article: Languages of Taiwan

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

Almost everyone in the Republic of China born after the early 1950s can speak Mandarin, which has been the official language and the medium of instruction in the schools for more than four decades.

The majority speak a variant form of Southern Fujianese (Min Nan dialect) which is commonly referred to as Taiwanese. The ethnic Hakka have a distinct Hakka dialect. Between 1900 and 1945 Japanese was the medium of instruction and could be fluently spoken by many of the educated during that period. Chinese romanisation in Taiwan uses both Tongyong pinyin which has been officially adopted by the national government, and Hanyu pinyin which some localities use. Wade-Giles, used traditionally, is also found, as well as Vietnamese.

On Kinmen (Quemoy) the language spoken is also Min Nan. On the Matsu Islands, Foochow dialect, a Min Dong (eastern Fujianese) dialect, is spoken.

[edit] Religion

Main article: Religion in Taiwan

Overview: Buddhist 94%, Christian 4.5%, other 1.5%

Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of China guarantees freedom of religion as a right of all its citizens. As of 2002, the Republic of China government recognizes 25 religions which are registered with the Civil Affairs Department of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI)^[2].

[edit] Statistics on registered religions (2002)

About half of the population can be considered religious believers, most of whom identify themselves as Buddhists or Taoists. At the same time there is a strong belief in folk religion. These are not considered mutually exclusive, and many people practice a combination of the three. Confucianism also is an honored school of thought and ethical codes. Christian churches have been active in Taiwan for many years, a majority of which are Protestant, with Presbyterians playing a particularly significant role. The ROC government has diplomatic relations with the Holy See, which is the only European nation to formally recognize the ROC and is the ROC's longest lasting diplomatic ally, having established relations in 1942. Islam is a static religion but has seen a surge in recent years as a result of foreign Muslims seeking work in Taiwan, most notably from Indonesia. There is also a small group of Shinto followers under the Tenrikyo sect which began in the 1970s.

Religion	Chinese	Members	Temples & Churches
Buddhism	(佛教 Fó jiào)	5,486,000	4,038
Taoism	(道教 Dào jiào)	4,546,000	8,604
Yi Guan Dao	(一貫道 Yī Guàn Dào)	845,000	3,218
Protestantism	(基督新教 Jīdū xīn jiào)	605,000	3,609
Catholicism	(天主教 Tiānzhǔ jiào)	298,000	1,135
Lord of Universe Church	(天帝教 Tiān Dì jiào)	260,000	53
Tian De Jiao	(天德教 Tiān Dé jiào)	200,000	5
Syuan Yuan Jiao	(軒轅教 Xuānyuán jiào)	150,000	21
Maitreya Great Tao	(彌勒大道 Mílè dàjiào)	100,000	2,000
Islam	(伊斯蘭教 Yīsīlán jiào)	53,000	6
Tenrikyo	(天理教 Tiānlǐ jiào)	30,000	150
Bahá'í Faith	(巴哈伊教 Bāhāyī jiào)	16,000	13
Confucianism	(儒學 Rú xué)	14,000	170
Li-ism	(理教 Lǐ jiào)	169,000	131
Hai Zih Dao	(亥子道 Hàizi Dào)	2,300	30
Zhonghua Sheng Jiao	(中華聖教 Zhōnghuá Shèng jiào)	1,400	5
Mahikarikyo	(真光教團 Zhēnguāng jiàotuán)	1,000	9
Huang Zhong	(黃中 Huáng Zhōng)	500	1
Universe Maitreya Emperor Jiao	(宇宙彌勒皇教 Yǔzhòu Mílè Huáng jiào)	300	2
Da Yi Jiao	(大易教 Dà yì jiào)	300	1
Total	12,777,800	23,201

Note: Statistics for the following religions are missing from the table above:

• Tantric Buddhism
• Xian Tian Jiu Jiao (先天救教)
• Church of Scientology (山達基教會)
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (耶穌基督後期聖徒教會)
• Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (世界基督教統一神靈協會)

Source: Taipei Times^[2].

[edit] Population

According to May 2006 statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, the population of the Republic of China was 22,805,547, 99.6% of which live in Taiwan Province (Note: Taipei City and Kaohsiung City are municipalities and thus officially not part of Taiwan Province), Taipei City, or Kaohsiung City. The remaining 0.4% (82,618) live across the Taiwan Strait just off the coast of Fujian in mainland China. The ROC has jurisdiction over Taiwan Province and Fukien Province, the latter consists of a few islands administered as two counties, Kinmen and Matsu (Lienchiang). Not many people know that Fujian province is divided between the PRC and ROC, though the ROC only has jurisdiction over a few small islands off the coast of mainland Fujian province.

The Republic of China (Taiwan) is ranked 49th most populous nation in the world.

Rank	Name	Chinese name	Population
1	Taiwan Province	臺灣省 or 台灣省	18,590,635 ¹
2	Taipei City	臺北市 or 台北市	2,620,693
3	Kaohsiung City	高雄市	1,511,601
4	Fukien Province	福建省	82,618 ²
Total			22,805,547

Notes:

1.	Excludes the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung, which were split off from the Taiwan Province in 1967 and 1979 respectively.
2.	Covers only the modern counties of Kinmen and Lienchiang, which are under the effective jurisdiction of the Fukien Province.

[edit] Age structure

Age range	Male	Female	Total
0-14 years	2,330,951	2,140,965	4,471,961 (19.4%)
15-64 years	8,269,421	8,040,169	16,309,590 (70.8%)
65 years and over	1,123,429	1,131,152	2,254,581 (9.8%)
Total	11,723,801	11,312,286	23,036,132

Source: CIA World Factbook (2006 est.)

[edit] 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: 0.99 male(s)/female

total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

[edit] Foreign residents

Total: 422,738 (May 2006 est.)

Source: Ministry of the Interior (MOI)

[edit] Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

-0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

[edit] Life expectancy at birth

The Republic of China (Taiwan) is ranked 51st in the world for highest life expectancy at birth.

Gender	Life expectancy
Male	74.67 years
Female	80.47 years
Average	77.43 years

Source: CIA World Factbook (2006 est.)

[edit] Births & Deaths

[edit] Population growth rate

Year	Population growth rate
2007	0.30%
2006	0.61%
2005	0.63%
2004	0.64%
2003	0.65%
2002	0.78%
2001	0.8%
2000	0.81%

Source: CIA World Factbook

[edit] Fertility rate

1.12 children born/woman (2007 est.)

[edit] Birth rate

12.56 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

14.42 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

[edit] Infant mortality rate

total: 6.29 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

[edit] Death rate

6.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

5.91 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

[edit] HIV/AIDS

Main article: HIV/AIDS in Taiwan

The first reported case of HIV/AIDS was recorded in December 1984 and the first local infection recorded in February 1986. As of May 2006, there were 11,486 recorded cases of HIV of which 2,631 were confirmed with AIDS. There were 1,425 deaths leaving 10,029 people living with HIV/AIDS. This is less than 0.5% of the total population of Taiwan. Statistics by the Center for Disease Control show that the gender distribution of infected person was 90% male and 10% female.

Data	Population
Adult prevalence	11,486
People living with HIV/AIDS	10,029
Deaths	1,425

Source: Center for Disease Control (CDC), Republic of China (Taiwan) - May 2006 est.(PDF file) (Chinese)

[edit] Military manpower

Main article: Conscription in the Republic of China

The Republic of China (Taiwan) has a compulsory military draft for males aged 19-35 years of age with a service obligation of 16 months (to be reduced to 12 months in 2008).

[edit] Available manpower

Defined as 19-49 years of age.

Gender	Population
Male	5,883,828
Female	5,680,773
Total	11,564,601

[edit] Fit for military service

Of the available manpower, the following are fit for military service. Defined as 19-49 years of age.

Gender	Population
Male	4,749,537
Female	4,644,607
Total	9,394,144

[edit] Education

Main article: Education in the Republic of China

The Republic of China has a nine-year compulsory education program in Taiwan, Kinmen, and Matsu initiated by the Ministry of Education in 1968. This consists of six years in elementary education and three years in junior high education. About 94.7% of junior high graduates continue their studies in either a senior high or vocational school ^{[citation needed]}. Reflecting a strong commitment to education, in FY 2001 16% of the ROC budget was allocated for education ^{[citation needed]}. The enrollment rate was 96.77% for the school year 2004-2005 ^[3]. For the school year 2005-2006, there were 5,283,855 students in both public and private schools, about a quarter of the entire population. The literacy rate is above 95%.

Taiwan has an extensive higher education system with more than 100 institutions of higher learning. Each year over 100,000 students take the joint college entrance exam; about 66.6% of the candidates are admitted to a college or university^{[citation needed]}. Opportunities for graduate education are expanding in Taiwan, but many students travel abroad for advanced education, including 13,000 who study in the United States annually ^{[citation needed]}.

Since the mid-1990s, the government has introduced several education reforms in a bid to further improve education standards such as the replacement in 2002 of the 48-year long Joint University Entrance Examination (JUEE; 大學聯考; Dàxué liánkǎo) which had been set up in 1954.

See also: List of universities in Taiwan

[edit] Distribution of students

Sector	Education	Years of study	Typical Age range	Students	Distribution
Pre-school	Kindergarten	(2 years)	4-6 years old	224,220	4.2%
Compulsory	Elementary	6 years	6-12 years old	1,831,913	34.7%
	Junior High	3 years	12-15 years old	951,236	18%
Senior Secondary	Senior High	3 years	15-18 years old	420,608	8%
	Senior Vocation	3 years	15-18 years old	331,604	6.3%
Higher Education	Junior College	2-5 years	15-20 years old	37,068	0.7%
	University & College	4-7 years (up to 13 years)	18-25 years old (up to 31 years old)	1,259,490	23.8%
Other	Special School	up to 14 years	4-18 years old	6,361	0.1%
	Supplementary School	n/a	n/a	200,573	3.8%
	Open University	n/a	n/a	20,782	0.4%
Total				5,283,855	100%

Source: Number of students at each level (SY 2005-2006), Ministry of Education, Republic of China (Taiwan).

[edit] Literacy

Definition of literacy is those aged 15 and over who can read and write.

Gender	Population
Male	n/a
Female	n/a
Total	n/a
Literacy rate	96.1%

Source: CIA World Factbook (2003 est.)

[edit] See also

[edit] References