Demographics of Taiwan

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Republic of China (Taiwan)

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The Republic of China's population was estimated in 2005 at 22.9 million, most of which are on Taiwan.

Contents

1 Ethnic groups
2 Language
3 Religion
4 Basic facts
5 See also

Ethnic groups

About 98% of the population is of Han Chinese ethnicity. Of these, 84% descend from early Han immigrants and are referred to as native Taiwanese (Chinese: 本省人; pinyin: Bensheng ren; literally "home-province person"), who themselves are broken into two groups. These are the Hakka (客家), 15% of the total population), whose ancestors came from Guangdong Province, and the Southern Fujianese or Hoklo (Hō-ló 福佬), comprising 70% of the total population, who migrated from the coastal Southern Fujian region in the southeast of mainland China. The remaining 14% of Han Chinese originates from the later immigrants, referred to as "Mainlanders" (外省人; Waisheng ren; literally "external-province person"). This group descends from those who fled mainland China in 1949 following the Nationalist defeat in the Chinese Civil War.Dalu ren (大陸人) refers to residents of Mainland China. This group excludes almost all Taiwanese, including the Mainlanders, except recent immigrants from mainland China, such as those made Republic of China citizens through marriage. It also excludes foreign brides from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines or foreign grooms of which a greater number come from Western countries. One in seven marriages now involves a partner from another country. As Taiwan's birthrate is among the lowest in the world , this contingent is playing an increasingly important role in changing Taiwan's demographic makeup.

The other 2% of Taiwan's population, numbering about 440,000, are listed as the Taiwanese aborigines (原住民; yuánzhùmín; literally "original inhabitants"), divided into 12 major groups: Ami, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan and Taroko.

The human leukocyte antigen typing study and mitochondrion DNA analysis performed in recent years show that more than 88% of the native Han Taiwanese population have some degree of aboriginal origin.

Language

Almost everyone on Taiwan born after the early 1950s can speak Mandarin, which has been the medium of instruction in the schools for more than four decades. A large fraction of the people also speak one of the Southern Fujianese dialects, Min-nan, also known as Taiwanese. The 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.

Religion

About half of the ROC 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 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.

Basic facts

Statistical data obtained from The World Factbook published by the CIA unless stated otherwise.

Population: 23,036,087 (July 2006 est.)

Aborigine Population: total: 468,602 (May 2006 est.) (100%); total male: 233,388; total female: 235,214; in plains: 220,513 (47.1%); male: 111,372; female: 109,141; in mountains: 248,089 (52.9%); male: 122,016; female: 126,073

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

Foreign Residents: 422,738 (May 2006 est.)

Note: Source data obtained from ROC Ministry of the Interior website ([Spreadsheet data: m5-08.xls])

Population growth rate: 0.61% (2006 est.); 0.81% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 12.56 births/1,000 population (2006 est.); 14.42 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 6.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.); 5.91 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 19.4% (male 2,330,951/female 2,140,965); 15-64 years: 70.8% (male 8,269,421/female 8,040,169); 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 1,123,429/female 1,131,152) (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:

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

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

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.)

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.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 77.43 years

male: 74.67 years

female: 80.47 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.57 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 11,486 (May 2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 10,029 (May 2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,425 (May 2006 est.)

Note: Source data for HIV/AIDS statistics obtained from the Center for Disease Control, R.O.C. (Taiwan) website ([PDF file]) ()

Nationality: noun: Chinese (singular and plural); Taiwanese (singular and plural); adjective: Chinese; Taiwanese

Note: The issue of national identity is a rather controversial one on Taiwan. Almost all people on Taiwan will regard themselves as "huá rén" (華人) which is a term for Chinese in the ethnic sense and is used by overseas Chinese around the world. Similarly virtually everyone in Taiwan will regard themselves as "Táiwān rén" which literally translates as person from Taiwan.

The controversial term is "Zhōngguó rén" (中國人) which is translated as People of China (the country) but has a stronger political implication than the term "Huá rén." About 50% or so people on Taiwan will not object to being called "Zhōngguó rén," but there is a significant portion of the population (around 40%) on Taiwan who will be offended by the term. Although there are some correlations between these self-descriptions to ethnic characteristics, they largely reflect the individual's political belief in the question of Taiwan's political status.

Ethnic groups: Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%

Religions: mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%

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

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write; total population: 96.1%; male: NA%; female: NA% (2003)

Demographics of Taiwan

Ethnic groups

Language

Religion

Basic facts

See also