Taiwan Facts

taiwan header: Taiwan impressions: Taipei night market, Taipei skyline and Dragon and Tiger Pagoda
Taiwan Facts: Night Market, Taipei, Dragon and Tiger Pagoda

Interesting Facts for Kids

Here are some interesting Taiwan Facts which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.

 

Taiwan Facts for Kids

  • Population: almost 25 million people live in Taiwan (2023). 
  • Capital: Taipei with 4.5 million inhabitants 
  • Name: Republic of China (ROC) 
  • Languages: Mandarin or Standard Chinese (official language), Hokkien and Hakka are among other most spoken languages
  • Religion: Main religions are folk religions (42%), Buddhism (21%), Christianity 6% and Islam 1%
  • Currency: 1 New Taiwan Dollar (yuan) equals 100 cents (fen)
  • Flag colors: red and blue with white sun on blue sky
  • National day: 10 October  – in 1912 the Republic of China was formed
  • National symbols: plum blossom (flower)
  • National colours: red and blue
  • National anthem: ‘National Anthem of the Republic of China’
  • History: Taiwan was first settled by people from Austronesia, the ancestors of the Taiwanese indigenous people. Han Chinese settled on the island already from the 13th century. In 1542, Portuguese explorers set foot onto the island and called it Formosa. Isla Formosa in Portuguese means ‘Beautiful Island’. Later Taiwan was also colonised by the Dutch and Spanish. Taiwan was ruled by Japanese from 1895 until 1945, then the Chinese took over. The Chinese Civil War resulted in Taiwan’s split from rule of the mainland. Nationalists claimed that the real Chinese government would sit in Taiwan as the Republic of China. The Republic of China already had been declared in 1912 under Japanese occupation. Since the 1990s Taiwan has a multiparty government but today Taiwan still only maintains official diplomatic relations with 13 out of 193 UN member states. The People’s Republic of China does not accept relationship with any country that supports Taiwan and has diplomatic ties thus many countries do not want to burden their relationship with China who considers Taiwan as part of their nation and thus many countries do not recognise Taiwan officially but still will support the independence of Taiwan.