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Taiwan Demographics Profile

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Population23,572,052 (July 2021 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Taiwan (singular and plural)

adjective: Taiwan (or Taiwanese)

note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan
Ethnic groupsHan Chinese (including Holo, who compose approximately 70% of Taiwan's population, Hakka, and other groups originating in mainland China) more than 95%, indigenous Malayo-Polynesian peoples 2.3%

note 1: there are 16 officially recognized indigenous groups: Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Hla'alua, Kanakaravu, Kavalan, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Sakizaya, Seediq, Thao, Truku, Tsou, and Yami; Amis, Paiwan, and Atayal are the largest and account for roughly 70% of the indigenous population

note 2: although not definitive, the majority of current genetic, archeological, and linguistic data support the theory that Taiwan is the ultimate source for the spread of humans across the Pacific to Polynesia; the expansion (ca. 3000 B.C. to A.D. 1200) took place via the Philippines and eastern Indonesia and reached Fiji and Tonga by about 900 B.C.; from there voyagers spread across the rest of the Pacific islands over the next two millennia
LanguagesMandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min Nan), Hakka dialects, approximately 16 indigenous languages

major-language sample(s):
????  –  ??????????? (Mandarin)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
ReligionsBuddhist 35.3%, Taoist 33.2%, Christian 3.9%, folk religion (includes Confucian) approximately 10%, none or unspecified 18.2% (2005 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 12.42% (male 1,504,704/female 1,426,494)

15-24 years: 11.62% (male 1,403,117/female 1,339,535)

25-54 years: 45.51% (male 5,351,951/female 5,389,112)

55-64 years: 14.73% (male 1,698,555/female 1,778,529)

65 years and over: 15.72% (male 1,681,476/female 2,029,576) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 40

youth dependency ratio: 17.8

elderly dependency ratio: 22.2

potential support ratio: 4.5 (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 42.3 years

male: 41.5 years

female: 43.1 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate0.04% (2021 est.)
Birth rate7.43 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate7.8 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Population distributiondistribution exhibits a peripheral coastal settlement pattern, with the largest populations on the north and west coasts
Urbanizationurban population: 79.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.65% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major cities - population4.435 million New Taipei City, 2.731 million TAIPEI (capital), 2.272 million Taoyuan, 1.542 million Kaohsiung, 1.338 million Taichung, 857,000 Tainan (2021)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female

total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 4.35 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 3.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 80.95 years

male: 77.93 years

female: 84.14 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.07 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rateNA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDSNA
HIV/AIDS - deathsNA
Education expendituresNA
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 98.5%

male: 99.7%

female: 97.3% (2014)

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021