Key Facts

GDP (ppp) per CAPITA

$31,100 (2008 est.)

Inflation Rate

3.5% (2008 est.)

Population

22,974,347 (July 2009 est.)

Country Risk Ratings

A2

Ease of Doing Business

61/181

Global Competitiveness

5.22/134

Country Map

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gE Network

There are 68 members in the
gE Network for this country.

Taiwan : Introduction

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 eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform.

Taiwan: Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation

Sources:
CIA World Factbook (September 2009)
U.S. Dept. of State Country Background Notes (April 2009)