Taiwan 's population was estimated in 2005 as being 22.9 million. About 98 percent of the largely population is of Han Chinese ethnicity. Of these, 84 percent descend from early Han immigrants referred to as native Taiwanese ( 本省人 ) , which themselves are broken into two groups. These are the Hakka (15 percent of the total population), whose ancestors came from Guangdong Province are spread throughout Taiwan with extensive intermarriage with Taiwanese aborigines, and the Southern Fujianese (70 percent of the total population), who migrated from the coastal Southern Fujian region in the southeast of mainland China . The remaining 14 percent of Han Chinese originates from the later immigrants, referred to as "Mainlanders" ( 外省人 ) . This group originates from those who fled mainland China in 1949 following the Nationalist defeat in the Chinese Civil War.

The other two percent of Taiwan's population, numbering about 440,000, are the Taiwanese aborigines ( 原住民 ) , divided into 12 major groups: Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Truku, and Kavalan.

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 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 can be fluently spoken by many educated during that period. Chinese romanisation on 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.

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 code. Christian churches have been active on Taiwan for many years, a majority of which are Protestant, with Presbyterians playing a particularly significant role.

Population: 22,894,384 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:

• 0-14 years: 22% (male 2,485,421; female 2,292,901)
• 15-64 years: 70% (male 7,869,939; female 7,629,195)
• 65 years and over: 8% (male 1,013,074; female 900,557) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.81% (2000 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate: -0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:

• at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female
• total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

• total population: 77.26 years
• male: 74.49 years
• female: 80.28 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.57 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Chinese; Taiwanese. The issue of national identity is a rather controversial one on Taiwan . Almost all people on Taiwan will regard themselves as "hua ren" ( 华人 ) 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 " Taiwan ren" which literally translates as person from Taiwan .

Alien population:

According to 2004 statistics from the R.O.C. Minister of Interior, the population of foreign residents has reached 500 thousand. Among them, alien labors constitute a 69.4 percent of the total alien residents, alien spouses constitute a 19.9%, and the rest of them are mostly visiting Taiwan for business or tourism.

Ethnic groups

Han: Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%

Taiwanese aborigine: 2%

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.

Religions

Mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%;

Christian 4.5%

Other 2.5%

According to the ROC Interior Ministry figures, there are about 11.2 million religious believers in Taiwan , with more than 75% identifying themselves as Buddhists or Taoists. At the same time there is a strong belief in Chinese folk religion throughout the island. These are not mutually exclusive, and many people practice a combination of the three. Confucianism also is an honored school of thought and ethical code. Christian churches have been active on Taiwan for many years, and today the island has more than 600,000 Christians, a majority of whom are Protestant.

Languages

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

A large majority of people on Taiwan speak Mandarin Chinese, which has been the only officially sanctioned medium of instruction in the schools for more than four decades. Native Taiwanese and many others also speak one of the Southern Fujianese dialects, Min-nan, also known as Taiwanese locally. Recently there has been a growing use of Taiwanese in the broadcast media. The Hakka, who are concentrated in several counties throughout Taiwan , have their own distinct dialect. As a result of the half century of Japanese rule, many people born before 1940 also can speak fluent Japanese.

The Wade-Giles system is commonly used for Chinese romanization on Taiwan , but Chinese romanization on Taiwan tends to be highly inconsistent. Unlike Mainland China , Taiwan does not use Roman letters in teaching pronunciation in schools but rather uses a system called Zhuyin. There have been efforts by the educational system to move toward a Roman-based system, but these have been slow due to bureaucratic inertia, political reluctance to follow mainland China 's footsteps and the huge cost in teacher retraining. The central government adopted Tongyong Pinyin as the official romanization in 2002 but local governments are permitted to override the standard as some have adopted Hanyu Pinyin and retained old romanizations that are commonly used.

Education

A 9-year public educational system has been in effect since 1979. Six years of elementary school and 3 years of junior high are compulsory for all children. About 94.7% of junior high graduates continue their studies in either a senior high or vocational school. Reflecting a strong commitment to education, in FY 2001 16% of the ROC budget was allocated for education.

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. 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.

Literacy:

• definition: age 15 and over can read and write
• total population: 86% (1980 est.); note - literacy for the total population has reportedly increased to 94% (1998 est.)
• male: 93% (1980 est.)
• female: 79% (1980 est.)

Culture

Taiwan 's culture is a blend of its distinctive Chinese heritage and Western influences. Fine arts, folk traditions, and popular culture embody traditional and modern, Asian, and Western motifs. One of Taiwan 's greatest attractions is the National Palace Museum , which houses over 650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade, calligraphy, painting, and porcelain. This collection was moved from the mainland in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek's administration fled to Taiwan . The collection is so extensive that only 1% is on display at any one time.