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Taiwan

Taiwan, |2= The traditional Taiwan region (), which consists of the main island of Taiwan and its surrounding islands, including the Penghu islands, but excludes Kinmen, Matsu, and Wuqiu, those are traditionally parts of Fujian Province, and also excluding the ROC-controlled South China Sea Islands; |3= The traditional region without Penghu, which is sometimes regarded as a separate region; | 4= The main island of Taiwan (Formosa) alone, excluding all the offshore islands nearby.}}}} officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. include Taiwan as part of Southeast Asia in their definition. }} The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of , with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consist of 168 islands |2= Penghu Islands (90)|3= Kinmen, including Wuqiu (17)|4= Matsu Islands (36)|5= Pratas Island (1)|6= Spratly Islands (2, Taiping and Zhongzhou)}} Note: The Senkaku Islands (known as "Diaoyu" or "Diaoyutai" in standard Chinese), which are an archipelago of 8 islands and islets in the East China Sea, are controlled by Japan, and are disputed by the ROC and the PRC (People's Republic of China) as being a part of Taiwan. Japan administers the Senkaku Islands as a part of the Ryukyu Islands.}} in total covering . The largest metropolitan area is formed by Taipei (the capital), New Taipei City, and Keelung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries.

Taiwan has been settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors of Taiwanese indigenous peoples settled the island around 6,000 years ago. In the 17th century, large-scale Han Chinese immigration began under Dutch colonial rule and continued under the Kingdom of Tungning, the first predominantly Han Chinese state in Taiwanese history. The island was annexed in 1683 by the Qing dynasty and ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895. The Republic of China, which had overthrown the Qing in 1912 under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, assumed control following the surrender of Japan in World War II. With the loss of mainland China to the Communists in the Chinese Civil War, the government of the Republic of China moved to Taiwan in 1949 under the Kuomintang (KMT).

From the early 1960s, Taiwan saw rapid economic growth and industrialization known as the "Taiwan Miracle". In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the ROC transitioned from a one-party state under martial law to a multi-party democracy, with democratically elected presidents beginning in 1996. Taiwan's export-oriented economy is the 21st-largest in the world by nominal GDP and the 20th-largest by PPP measures, with a focus on steel, machinery, electronics, and chemicals manufacturing. Taiwan is a developed country. It is ranked highly in terms of civil liberties, healthcare, and human development. Taiwan's Statistical Bureau calculated its HDI for 2021 to be 0.926 based on UNDP's 2010 methodology, which would place Taiwan at 19th globally in 2021 within the 2022 UNDP report. |group="nb"}}

The political and international status of Taiwan is contentious. Despite being a founding member, the ROC no longer represents China as a member of the United Nations after UN members voted in 1971 to recognize the PRC instead. The ROC maintained its claim to be the sole legitimate representative of China and its territory until 1991, when it ceased to regard the Chinese Communist Party as a rebellious group and acknowledged its control over mainland China. Taiwan is claimed by the PRC, which refuses to establish diplomatic relations with countries that recognise the ROC. Taiwan maintains official diplomatic relations with 11 out of 193 UN member states and the Holy See. Many others maintain unofficial diplomatic ties through representative offices and institutions that function as ''de facto'' embassies and consulates. International organizations in which the PRC participates either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate on a non-state basis. Domestically, the major political contention is between the Pan-Blue Coalition, which favors eventual Chinese unification under the ROC and promoting a pan-Chinese identity, contrasted with the Pan-Green Coalition, which favors eventual Taiwan independence and promoting a Taiwanese identity; in the 21st century, both sides have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal. Provided by Wikipedia