Taiwan at a Glance: Facts, Figures and Fast Answers
The essentials on Taiwan — where it is, who lives there, what language people speak, the currency, the capital and more, in one quick reference.
Updated 2026-07-10
The basics
- Capital: Taipei
- Currency: New Taiwan dollar (NT$)
- Official name: Republic of China (ROC)
- Time zone: UTC+8
- Calling code: +886
People and language
Taiwan is home to about 23 million people. The main spoken languages are Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka, alongside the languages of Taiwan's Indigenous peoples. Written Chinese uses traditional characters. English is increasingly common in cities and tourism.
Geography and climate
Taiwan is a mountainous island about 400 km long, off the southeastern coast of continental Asia. More than half is forested mountains, several above 3,000 m, while most people live on the western plains. The climate is subtropical to tropical, with a typhoon season from summer into autumn.
Economy
Taiwan has a high-income, advanced economy built on technology and manufacturing, and is a global leader in semiconductors. It is one of Asia's wealthiest societies by income per person, with universal health care and high life expectancy.