This article is about the demographic features of the population in Taiwan, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The population in Taiwan was estimated in June 2009 at 23,063,027^[1] spread across a total land area of 35,980 km², making it the fifteenth 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^[2]. 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 0.23% 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 Standard Mandarin, although a majority also speak Taiwanese (dialect of Min Nan; a Southern Fujian language) 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 Han Chinese 2.2 Aborigine 3 Languages 4 Religion 4.1 Statistics on registered religions (2005) 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 and 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

Most identify themselves as Taiwanese (台灣人 Táiwānrén) to clarify that they are from Taiwan, not from mainland China (大陸人 Dàlùrén; "mainlander/people from the mainland"). The people of Taiwan are officially "Chinese citizens" recognized by the Republic of China government and the majority of the population are descendants of Han Chinese immigrants from the adjacent Fujian province in mainland China.

[edit] Ethnic groups

Overview: Han 98% (Benshengren 84% including Hoklo 70%, Hakka 14%, and Waishengren 15%), aborigine 2% (13 recognized tribes)

Officially, the population of Taiwan consist of 98% Han Chinese, of which 84% identify as Benshengren (本省人 Běnshěngrén; literally "home-province person") while 15% are mainlanders or Waishengren (外省人 Wàishěngrén; literally "external-province person"). The remainder 2% are aborigines (less than 500,000). A confounding factor is intermarriage between these ethnic groups.

[edit] Han Chinese

98% of Taiwanese are Han Chinese. 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. Studies show about 85% have partial Aborigines descent. Both Hakka and Hoklo speakers regard themselves as Benshengren and consider the mainland Chinese immigrants around the late 1940s during the Chinese Civil War as Waishengren.

[edit] Aborigine

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 ROC 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] Languages

Overview: Standard Mandarin (official), Taiwanese Minnan, Hakka dialects

Almost everyone in Taiwan born after the early 1950s can speak Mandarin, which has been the official language and the medium of instruction in the schools since for more than four decades. The Mandarin spoken in Taiwan has minor differences than those spoken in mainland China, South-east Asia and other regions of the world。 The majority speak a dialect form of Min Nan (Southern Fujianese language), commonly referred to as Taiwanese, and was the most common language prior to the ROC takeover. 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 Hanyu pinyin which has been officially adopted by the central government, and Tongyong pinyin which some localities use. Wade-Giles, used traditionally, is also found.

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

[edit] Religion

Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of China guarantees freedom of religion as a right of all its citizens. As of 2002^[update], the Republic of China government recognizes 25 religions which are registered with the Civil Affairs Department of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI).^[3]

[edit] Statistics on registered religions (2005)

About 81.3% 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.

The table shows official statistics on religion issued by the Department of Civil Affairs, Ministry of the Interior ("MOI"), in 2005. The ROC government recognizes 26 religions in Taiwan.^[4] The statistics are reported by the various religious organizations to the MOI:^[4][5]

Religion	Members	% of total population	Temples & churches
Buddhism (佛教) (including Tantric Buddhism)	8,086,000	35.1%	4,006
Taoism (道教)	7,600,000	33.0%	18,274
Yi Guan Dao (一貫道)	810,000	3.5%	3,260
Protestantism (基督新教)	605,000	2.6%	3,609
Catholicism (天主教)	298,000	1.3%	1,151
Lord of Universe Church (天帝教)	298,000	1.3%	50
Maitreya Great Tao (彌勒大道)	250,000	1.1%	2,200
Tian De Jiao (天德教)	200,000	0.9%	14
Li-ism (理教)	186,000	0.8%	138
Syuan Yuan Jiao (軒轅教)	152,700	0.7%	22
Islam (伊斯蘭教)	58,000	0.3%	6
Tenrikyo (天理教)	35,000	0.2%	153
Universe Maitreya Emperor Jiao (宇宙彌勒皇教)	35,000	0.2%	12
Hai Zih Dao (亥子道)	30,000	0.1%	55
Confucianism (儒學)	26,700	0.1%	139
Church of Scientology (山達基教會)	20,000	0.1%	7
Bahá'í Faith (巴哈伊教)	16,000	0.1%	13
The Chinese Heritage and Mission Religion (玄門真宗)	5,000	< 0.1%	5
Zhonghua Sheng Jiao (中華聖教)	3,200	< 0.1%	7
Mahikarikyo (真光教團)	1,000	< 0.1%	9
Pre-cosmic Salvationism (先天救教)	1,000	< 0.1%	6
Huang Zhong (黃中)	1,000	< 0.1%	1
Da Yi Jiao (大易教)	1,000	< 0.1%	1
Total religious population	18,718,600	81.3%	33,138
Total population	23,036,087	100%	-

Statistics for the following religions and new religious movements are missing from the table above:

• Xian Tian Jiu Jiao (先天救教)
• 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.^[3]

[edit] Population

According to May 2006 statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, the population of Taiwan was 22,805,547, 99.6% of which live in Taiwan (Taiwan Province, Taipei City and Kaohsiung City). The remaining 0.4% (82,618) live across the Taiwan Strait just off the coast of Fujian in mainland China.

Taiwan is ranked 50th 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

	Nationality / Origin	Total
1	Indonesia	127,578	32.3%
2	Vietnam	92,418	23.4%
3	Thailand	65,255	16.5%
4	Philippines	65,035	16.5%
5	Japan	9,576	2.4%
6	United States	8,644	2.2%
7	Malaysia	7,282	1.8%
8	Myanmar	2,665	0.7%
9	South Korea	2,505	0.6%
10	Canada	2,296	0.6%
	Others	11,893	3.0%
	Total	395,147	100.0%
As of June. 30th, 2009 Source: National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior[6]

[edit] Net migration rate

0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

[edit] Life expectancy at birth

Taiwan is ranked 51st in the world for highest life expectancy at birth.

Gender	Life expectancy
Male	75.12 years
Female	81.05 years
Average	77.96 years

Source: CIA World Factbook (2009 est.)

[edit] Births and deaths

[edit] Population growth rate

Year	Population growth rate
2009	0.23%
2007	0.30%
2006	0.33%
2005	0.38%
2004	0.42%
2003	0.46%
2002	0.52%
2001	0.59%
2000	0.64%

Source: CIA World Factbook

[edit] Fertility rate

1.18 children born/woman (2006 est.)

[edit] Birth rate

8.99 births/1,000 population (2008 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

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 - May 2006 est.(PDF file) (Chinese)

[edit] Military manpower

Taiwan, or The Republic of China 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

Taiwan has a nine-year compulsory education program 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 enrolment rate was 96.77% for the school year 2004-2005.^[7] 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.

[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

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v • d • e Taiwanese aborigines Recognized by the Republic of China Amis · Atayal · Bunun · Kavalan · Paiwan · Puyuma · Rukai · Saisiyat · Sakizaya · Seediq · Tao · Thao · Tsou · Truku Unrecognized by the Republic of China Babuza · Basay · Hoanya · Ketagalan · Luilang · Pazeh/Kaxabu · Popora · Qauqaut · Siraya · Taokas

v • d • e Demographics of Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan · Armenia1 · Azerbaijan1 · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Burma2 · Cambodia · People's Republic of China · Cyprus1 · East Timor3 · Egypt4 · Georgia4 · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan4 · North Korea · South Korea · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia4 · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Republic of China5 · Thailand · Turkey4 · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen Dependencies, autonomies, other territories Aceh · Adjara1 · Abkhazia1 · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Altai · British Indian Ocean Territory · Buryatia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Guangxi · Hong Kong · Inner Mongolia · Iraqi Kurdistan · Jakarta · Khakassia · Macau · Nagorno-Karabakh · Nakhchivan · Ningxia · Northern Cyprus · Palestine · Papua · Sakha · South Ossetia1 · Tibet · Tuva · West Papua · Xinjiang · Yogyakarta Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country.  1 Sometimes included in Europe, depending on the border definitions.  2 Officially known as Myanmar.  3 Sometimes included in Oceania, and also known as Timor-Leste.  4 Transcontinental country.  5 Commonly known as Taiwan.

v • d • e Ethnic and Heritage groups in Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan · Armenia1 · Azerbaijan1 · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Burma2 · Cambodia · People's Republic of China · Cyprus1 · East Timor3 · Egypt4 · Georgia4 · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan4 · North Korea · South Korea · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia4 · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Republic of China5 · Thailand · Turkey4 · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen Dependencies, autonomies, other territories Aceh · Adjara1 · Abkhazia1 · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Altai · British Indian Ocean Territory · Buryatia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Guangxi · Hong Kong · Inner Mongolia · Iraqi Kurdistan · Jakarta · Khakassia · Macau · Nagorno-Karabakh · Nakhchivan · Ningxia · Northern Cyprus · Palestine · Papua · Sakha · South Ossetia1 · Tibet · Tuva · West Papua · Xinjiang · Yogyakarta Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country.  1 Sometimes included in Europe, depending on the border definitions.  2 Officially known as Myanmar.  3 Sometimes included in Oceania, and also known as Timor-Leste.  4 Transcontinental country.  5 Commonly known as Taiwan.

[edit] References