Demographics of Taiwan

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 July 2011 at 23,188,087^[1] spread across a total land area of 35,980 km², making it the sixteenth most densely populated country in the world with a population density of 641 people per km².

The original population of Taiwan consists of Taiwanese aborigines who are genetically related to Austronesian peoples, with a mitochondrial DNA contribution from a Polynesian maternal ancestor, and linguists classify their languages as Austronesian.^[2] Immigration of Han Chinese to the Penghu islands started as early as the 1200s, while settlement of the main island occurred from the 1500s, stimulated by the import of workers from Fujian by the Dutch in the 17th century. According to governmental statistics, 96% of Taiwan's population is now made up of Han Chinese, while only 2% are Taiwanese aborigines.^[3] 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.

During the 20th century the population of Taiwan rose more than sevenfold, from 3.04 million in 1905 to 22.3 at December 31, 2000. This high growth was caused by a combination of factors, very high fertility rates up to the 1960s, and low mortality rates, and a surge in population as the Chinese Civil War ended, and the Kuomintang forces retreated, bringing an influx of two million soldiers and civilians to Taiwan in 1948 - 1949. Consequently, the natural growth of Taiwan was very rapid, especially in the late 1940s and 1950s, with an effective growth rate as high as 36.8 per 1,000 during 1951-1956. Including the Kuomintang forces, which accounted in 1950 for about 25% of all persons on Taiwan, immigration of mainland Chinese (now approximately 13% of the present population) at the end of the 1940s was a major factor in the high population growth of Taiwan. Some official government statistics for the period, including those reported on this page, do not seem consistent with the known size of the Kuomintang influx.

Fertility rates decreased gradually thereafter, and in 1984 the rate reached the replacement level (2.1 children per women, which is needed to replace the existing population). Fertility rates have continued to decline and in 2010 Taiwan was experiencing a population growth of less than 0.2% and a fertility rate of only 0.9, which is the lowest rate ever recorded in Taiwan. The population of Taiwan is projected to reach a maximum of little over 23.4 million between 2020 and 2025, and will decrease thereafter.

The official national language is 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.

Population

Population growth since 1978

According to May 2006 statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, the population of Taiwan was 22,805,547, 99.6% of which live on Taiwan island (Taiwan, Taipei City and Kaohsiung City). The remaining 0.4% (82,618) live on offshore islands (Penghu, Jinmen, Mazu, Lanyu, and Green Island).

Taiwan is ranked the 50th most populous nation in the world.

Rank	Name	Chinese name	Population
1	Taiwan	臺灣 or 台灣	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 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.

Population census

Year	Males (thousands)	Females (thousands)	Total population (thousands)	Average annual growth rate (%)
1905	1,611	1,429	3,040
1915	1,813	1,669	3,480	1.4
1920	1,894	1,762	3,655	1.0
1925	2,053	1,941	3,993	1.8
1930	2,353	2,239	4,593	2.8
1935	2,660	2,553	5,212	2.6
1940	2,971	2,901	5,872	2.4
1956	4,772	4,596	9,368	3.0
1966	7,153	6,352	13,505	3.7
1970 (sampling)	7,723	7,047	14,770	2.3
1975 (sampling)	8,439	7,840	16,279	2.0
1980	9,405	8,624	18,030	2.1
1990	10,618	9,775	20,394	1.2
2000	11,386	10,915	22,301	0.9
2010 (end of year estimate)			23,162	0.4

Net migration rate

During 2004-2010 Taiwan's migration rate was positive. On average the annual net migration amounted to 22,000 people during that period, which is equivalent to a rate of 1.0 per 1000 inhabitants per year.

Age structure

Age range	1980	census 1990	census 2000	2010
0–14 years	32.1%	26.9%	21.2%	15.65%
15–64 years	63.6%	67.0%	70.2%	73.61%
65 years and over	4.3%	6.1%	8.6%	10.74%

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.)

Nationality

Main article: Political status of Taiwan

Some 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.

Ethnicity (Overview)

Main article: List of ethnic groups in Taiwan

The majority of the population are said to be descendants of Han Chinese immigrants from the adjacent Fujian province in mainland China.

Taiwanese ethnicities^{[citation needed]}

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 - to the extent that it is doubtful whether the term "ethnicity" can be used at all.

Han Chinese

Main article: Taiwanese people

98% of Taiwanese are descendants of a mixture of Han Chinese and mainly plains tribe aboriginals who intermarried over the past four hundred years. 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. Some settlers intermarried with Plains Aborigines. Both Hakka and Hoklo speakers regard themselves as Benshengren (本省人) and consider the mainland Chinese immigrants around the late 1940s during the Chinese Civil War as Waishengren (外省人).

Aboriginal

Original geographic distributions of Taiwanese aboriginal tribes

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 fourteen aborigine tribes (原住民; yuánzhùmín; literally "original inhabitants"). These are: Ami, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Tao (Yami), Thao, Kavalan, Truku, Seediq, and Sakizaya. Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan classified and recognized nine tribes based on linguistic and cultural data; these criteria were modified and included in the official ROC ethnographies of Taiwanese people. The Thao, Kavalan, Truku, Sakizaya, and Seediq tribes were recognized much later in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2008 respectively by the ROC government. There are at least another dozen tribes that are not recognized by the government.

Officially Recognized Taiwanese Aboriginal Tribes

English name	Chinese name	Pinyin transliteration	Population at census 2000[4]	Population	Date of recognition	Notes
Amis (Pangcah)	阿美	Āměi	148,992	183,799	Japanese colonial era	One of the 9 tribes originally recognized by the Japanese colonial government. Tribal name means "north."
Paiwan	排灣	Páiwān	70,331	88,323	Japanese colonial era	One of the 9 tribes originally recognized by the Japanese colonial government.
Atayal (Tayal)	泰雅	Tàiyǎ	91,883	80,061	Japanese colonial era	One of the 9 tribes originally recognized by the Japanese colonial government. Tribal name means "brave person."
Bunun	布農	Bùnóng	41,038	51,447	Japanese colonial era	One of the 9 tribes originally recognized by the Japanese colonial government.
Truku (Taroko)	太魯閣	Tàilǔgé	-	25,857	January 14, 2004	Originally classified as Atayal.
Rukai	魯凱	Lǔkǎi	12,084	11,911	Japanese colonial era	One of the 9 tribes originally recognized by the Japanese colonial government.
Puyuma	卑南	Bēinán	9,606	11,850	Japanese colonial era	One of the 9 tribes originally recognized by the Japanese colonial government.
Tsou (Cou)	鄒	Zōu	6,169	6,733	Japanese colonial era	One of the 9 tribes originally recognized by the Japanese colonial government.
Seediq	賽德克	Sàidékè	-	6,606	April 23, 2008	Originally classified as Atayal.
Saisiyat (Saysiat)	賽夏	Sàixià	5,311	5,900	Japanese colonial era	One of the 9 tribes originally recognized by the Japanese colonial government.
Tao (Yami)	達悟	Dáwù	3,872	3,748	Japanese colonial era	One of the 9 tribes originally recognized by the Japanese colonial government. Also known as 雅美 (Yǎmĕi) or 耶美 (Yémĕi). Tribal name means "person."
Kavalan	噶瑪蘭	Gámǎlán	-	1,218	2002	Some Kavalan are classified as Amis.
Thao	邵	Shào	-	693	2001	Originally thought to be Plains aborigines living among the Tsou.
Sakizaya	撒奇萊雅	Sāqíláiyǎ	-	442	January 17, 2007	Reclassified as Amis during the Japanese colonial era.
Others			8,249
Total			397,535

Unrecognized Taiwanese aboriginal tribes may include extinct tribes (mostly Plains aboriginal groups) or tribes currently classified with other groups. There are also 25,943 Aborigines who are currently not classified in any group.

Unrecognized Taiwanese Aboriginal Tribes

English name	Chinese name	Pinyin
Babuza	巴布薩	Bābùsà
Basay	巴賽	Bāsài
Hoanya	洪雅	Hé'ānyǎ
Kanakanabu	卡那卡那富	Kǎnàkǎnàfù
Kaxabu	噶哈巫	Géhāwū
Ketagalan	凱達格蘭	Kǎidágélán
Luilang	雷朗	Léilǎng
Makatao	馬卡道	Mǎkǎdào
Papora (Papora)	巴布拉	Bābùlā
Pazeh (Pazih)	巴宰 (巴澤海)	Bāzǎi (Bāzéhǎi)
Qauqaut	猴猴	Hóuhóu
Saaroa	沙阿魯阿	Shāālǔā
Siraya	西拉雅	Xīlāyǎ
Taokas	道卡斯	Dàokǎsī

Foreign residents

Foreign residents in Taiwan

	Nationality / Origin	Total
1	Indonesia	148,737	34.6%
2	Vietnam	86,317	20.1%
3	Philippines	74,483	17.3%
4	Thailand	68,618	15.9%
5	Japan	11,087	2.5%
6	United States	10,383	2.4%
7	Malaysia	9,735	2.2%
8	South Korea	3,428	0.8%
9	Canada	2,410	0.6%
10	India	1,538	0.4%
11	United Kingdom	1,388	0.3%
12	Singapore	1,091	0.3%
-	Other	11,157	2.6%
	Total	430,372	100.0%
As of Feb. 28th, 2011 Source: National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior[5]

Besides, there are People of the Mainland China Area, Hong Kong and Macao residents, and Nationals without registered household in the Taiwan Area.

People	Temporary residency	Permanent residency
Mainland China	241,455	128,744
Hong Kong and Macao	34,241	21,218
nationals without registered household	136,846	204,808
As of Feb. 28th, 2011 Source: National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior[6]

Languages

Main article: Languages of Taiwan

Overview: Mandarin (official), Taiwanese Minnan, Hakka dialects, Taiwanese aboriginal languages

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 for more than four decades. The Mandarin spoken in Taiwan has minor differences from that 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, which was the most common language. 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 those 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.

The most widely spoken Taiwanese aboriginal languages today are Amis, Atayal, Bunun, and Paiwan.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Taiwan

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).^[7]

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 centuries, 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.^[8] The statistics are reported by the various religious organizations to the MOI:^[8][9]

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.^[7]

Vital statistics

Births and deaths^[10][11]

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)
1906	3 060	119 107	102 000	16 000	38.6	33.4	5.2
1907	3 090	121 756	100 000	21 000	39.1	32.4	6.7
1908	3 120	119 800	100 000	19 000	38.2	31.9	6.3
1909	3 160	127 286	98 000	29 000	40.2	31.1	9.1
1910	3 210	132 141	88 000	45 000	41.3	27.5	13.8
1911	3 270	135 658	86 000	51 000	41.8	26.2	15.6
1912	3 330	136 622	83 000	55 000	41.3	25.0	16.3
1913	3 390	136 967	85 000	53 000	40.8	25.0	15.8
1914	3 440	141 450	95 000	47 000	41.4	27.6	13.8
1915	3 480	137 669	110 000	29 000	40.0	31.5	8.5
1916	3 510	128 605	100 000	31 000	37.3	28.6	8.7
1917	3 560	142 414	96 000	50 000	40.9	27.0	13.9
1918	3 590	139 465	122 000	21 000	39.7	34.1	5.6
1919	3 630	136 707	97 000	43 000	38.5	26.8	11.7
1920	3 655	141 313	117 000	27 000	39.5	32.1	7.4
1921	3 720	155 159	90 000	69 000	42.8	24.2	18.6
1922	3 790	154 531	93 000	65 000	41.8	24.6	17.2
1923	3 860	146 984	82 000	69 000	39.1	21.3	17.8
1924	3 930	158 688	96 000	67 000	41.4	24.5	16.9
1925	3 993	159 423	95 000	68 000	40.8	23.9	16.9
1926	4 100	175 802	92 000	87 000	43.7	22.4	21.3
1927	4 210	177 422	93 000	89 000	43.2	22.1	21.1
1928	4 330	183 699	95 000	94 000	43.7	22.0	21.7
1929	4 460	190 031	96 000	100 000	44.0	21.6	22.4
1930	4 593	198 186	89 000	117 000	44.8	19.4	25.4
1931	4 710	208 137	100 000	116 000	45.8	21.3	24.5
1932	4 867	204 913	99 000	115 000	44.0	20.4	23.6
1933	4 995	211 737	98 000	123 000	44.3	19.7	24.6
1934	5 128	219 189	105 166	123 510	44.6	20.5	24.1
1935	5 255	225 980	106 905	129 040	44.9	20.3	24.6
1936	5 384	223 961	106 332	127 725	43.5	19.8	23.7
1937	5 530	237 090	109 096	138 570	44.8	19.7	25.1
1938	5 678	235 821	111 723	133 117	43.1	19.7	23.4
1939	5 821	244 707	115 044	139 119	43.7	19.8	23.9
1940	5 987	246 691	116 239	141 232	43.0	19.4	23.6
1941	6 163	241 894	99 858	153 447	41.1	16.2	24.9
1942	6 339	242 796	112 161	143 243	40.3	17.7	22.6
1943	6 507	247 427	122 001	138 662	40.0	18.8	21.2
1944
1945
1946
1947	6 294	241 071	114 000	127 000	38.3	18.1	20.2
1948	6 648	264 000	95 000	169 000	39.7	14.3	25.4
1949	7 099	300 843	93 000	208 000	42.4	13.1	29.3
1950	7 468	323 643	86 000	238 000	43.4	11.5	31.9
1951	7 695	385 383	89 000	296 000	50.0	11.6	38.5
1952	8 000	372 905	79 000	294 000	46.6	9.9	36.8
1953	8 297	374 536	78 000	297 000	45.2	9.4	35.8
1954	8 617	383 574	71 000	313 000	44.6	8.2	36.3
1955	8 924	403 683	77 000	327 000	45.3	8.6	36.6
1956	9 242	414 036	74 000	340 000	44.8	8.0	36.8
1957	9 539	394 870	81 000	314 000	41.4	8.5	32.9
1958	9 858	410 885	75 000	336 000	41.7	7.6	34.1
1959	10 227	421 458	74 000	347 000	41.2	7.2	33.9
1960	10 602	419 442	74 000	345 000	39.5	7.0	32.5
1961	10 983	420 254	74 000	346 254	38.3	6.7	31.5
1962	11 312	423 469	72 000	351 469	37.4	6.4	31.1
1963	11 680	424 250	71 000	353 250	36.3	6.1	30.2
1964	12 088	416 926	69 000	347 926	34.5	5.7	28.8
1965	12 442	406 604	67 887	338 717	32.7	5.5	27.2
1966	12 812	415 108	69 778	345 330	32.4	5.4	27.0
1967	13 147	374 282	71 861	302 421	28.5	5.5	23.0
1968	13 474	394 260	73 650	320 610	29.3	5.5	23.8
1969	13 995	390 728	70 549	320 179	27.9	5.0	22.9
1970	14 507	394 015	71 135	322 883	27.2	4.9	22.3
1971	14 837	380 424	70 954	309 470	25.6	4.8	20.9
1972	15 145	365 749	71 486	294 263	24.1	4.7	19.4
1973	15 424	366 942	73 477	293 465	23.8	4.8	19.0
1974	15 699	355 933	74 760	293 063	23.4	4.8	18.7
1975	15 999	357 653	75 061	292 586	23.0	4.7	18.3
1976	16 298	424 075	77 000	347 075	26.0	4.7	21.3
1977	16 601	393 633	79 000	316 796	23.7	4.8	19.1
1978	16 951	411 637	79 000	330 203	24.3	4.7	19.5
1979	17 337	421 720	82 000	340 518	24.3	4.7	19.6
1980	17 608	413 881	84 333	329 548	23.5	4.8	18.7
1981	17 972	414 069	87 192	326 877	23.0	4.9	18.2
1982	18 261	405 263	87 578	317 685	22.2	4.8	17.4
1983	18 538	383 439	90 951	292 488	20.7	4.9	15.8
1984	18 873	371 008	89 915	281 093	19.7	4.8	14.9
1985	19 135	346 208	92 348	253 860	18.1	4.8	13.3
1986	19 356	309 230	95 057	214 173	16.0	4.9	11.1
1987	19 564	314 024	96 319	217 705	16.1	4.9	11.1
1988	19 788	342 031	102 113	239 918	17.3	5.2	12.1
1989	20 004	315 299	103 288	212 011	15.8	5.2	10.6
1990	20 230	335 618	105 669	229 949	16.6	5.2	11.4
1991	20 455	321 932	106 284	215 648	15.7	5.2	10.5
1992	20 655	321 632	110 516	211 116	15.6	5.4	10.2
1993	20 848	325 613	110 901	214 712	15.6	5.3	10.3
1994	21 087	322 938	113 866	209 072	15.3	5.4	9.9
1995	21 268	329 581	119 112	210 469	15.5	5.6	9.9
1996	21 441	325 545	122 489	203 056	15.2	5.7	9.5
1997	21 634	326 002	121 000	205 002	15.1	5.6	9.5
1998	21 836	271 450	123 180	148 270	12.4	5.6	6.8
1999	22 011	283 661	126 113	157 548	12.9	5.7	7.2
2000	22 185	305 312	125 957	179 355	13.8	5.7	8.1
2001	22 342	260 354	127 647	132 707	11.7	5.7	5.9
2002	22 464	247 530	128 636	118 894	11.0	5.7	5.3
2003	22 554	227 070	130 801	96 269	10.1	5.8	4.3
2004	22 647	216 419	135 092	81 327	9.6	6.0	3.6
2005	22 730	205 854	139 398	66 456	9.1	6.1	2.9
2006	22 824	204 459	135 839	68 620	9.0	6.0	3.0
2007	22 918	204 414	141 111	63 303	8.9	6.2	2.8
2008	22 998	198 733	143 624	55 109	8.6	6.2	2.4
2009	23 079	191 310	143 582	47 728	8.3	6.2	2.1
2010	23 141	166 886	145 772	21 114	7.2	6.3	0.9

Fertility rate^[12][13]

The fertility rate of Taiwan is one of the lowest fertility rates ever recorded in the world in historical times. It reached its lowest level in 2010: 0.90 children per female. In 1980, the rate was still well above replacement level (2.515), but it dropped to 1.88 in 1985, 1.81 in 1990, 1.78 in 1995, 1.68 in 2000, 1.12 in 2005.

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

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

Gender	Life expectancy in 2009[14]
Male	75.88 years
Female	82.46 years

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

Military manpower

Main articles: Conscription in the Republic of China and Military of the Republic of China

The Republic of China has a compulsory military draft for males aged 19–35 years of age with a service obligation of 12 months in 2008.

Available manpower

Defined as 19–49 years of age.

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

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

Education

Main article: Education in Taiwan

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 enrollment rate was 96.77% for the school year 2004-2005.^[15] 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

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.

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.)

References

1. ^ "Latest population estimates". National Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan). http://eng.stat.gov.tw/point.asp?index=4. 
2. ^ Trejaut, Jean; Toomas Kivisild, Jun Hun Loo, Chien Liang Lee, Chun Lin He, Chia Jung Hsu, Zheng Yuan Li, Marie Lin (August 2005). "Traces of Archaic Mitochondrial Lineages Persist in Austronesian-Speaking Formosan Populations". PLoS Biology 3 (8): e247. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030247. PMC 1166350. PMID 15984912. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1166350. 
3. ^ Taiwan More Than an Island Government Information Office of the Republic of China.
4. ^ Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, R.O.C. (DGBAS). National Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan). Preliminary statistical analysis report of 2000 Population and Housing Census. Excerpted from Table 28:Indigenous population distribution in Taiwan-Fukien Area. Accessed PM 8/30/06
5. ^ "臺灣地區居留外僑統計". National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior. 2011-02-28. http://www.immigration.gov.tw/np.asp?ctNode=29698&mp=1. Retrieved 2011-04-02. 
6. ^ "大陸地區、港澳居民、無戶籍國民來臺人數統計表" (in Chinese (The agency provides a bilingual glossary)) (Excel). National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior. 2011-02-28. http://taiwanwhatsup.immigration.gov.tw/public/Attachment/13249385464.xls. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Taiwan Yearbook 2004 - Religion". Taipei Times. 2004. http://ecommerce.taipeitimes.com/yearbook2004/P351.htm. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Taiwan Yearbook 2006". Government of Information Office. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-07-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20070708213510/http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/22Religion.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-01. 
9. ^ "2006 Report on International Religious Freedom". U.S. Department of State. 2006. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71337.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-01. 
10. ^ B.R. Mitchell. International historical statistics: Africa, Asia & Oceania 1750-2000.
11. ^ National Statistics Republic of China (Taiwan)
12. ^ [1]
13. ^ [2]
14. ^ [3]
15. ^ "Taiwan Yearbook 2005 - Education". Government Information Office, Republic of China. http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/p276.html.