Taiwan
| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Taipei |
|
Borders |
(N/A) |
|
Government type |
multiparty democracy |
|
Population |
22,974,347 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
|
Population growth |
0.227% (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
77.96 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
5.9% (2009 est.)[1] |
|
27[2] | |
|
37[3] | |
|
46[4] | |
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 1947 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 Taiwan's eventual status - as well as domestic political and economic reform.[1]
Economical characteristics
- Currency: (ISO code: )
- Central bank discount rate: 1.25% (February 2009)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 2.56% (31 December 2009)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): [1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $618 billion (November 2008)[1]
Notable events:
- Banking crisis: 1983-1984, July 1995, 1997-1998[5]
Statistics
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (USD)[6] | ||||||||||
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[7] | ||||||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[8] | ||||||||||
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[9] | ||||||||||
| Debt to revenue (years) |
References
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Taiwan", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Taiwan", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Taiwan", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Taiwan", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 385. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Taiwan: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Taiwan: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Taiwan: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Taiwan: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
Links
- Taiwan on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Taiwan
- BBC country profile
- The Taiwan Model by Hugh Macaulay, July 1998
