About Taiwan
Ilha Formosa — the Beautiful Island
Taiwan is an island in East Asia, long known to the world as “Formosa,” meaning “the beautiful island.” Home to around 23 million people, it is a vibrant democracy with a rich culture that blends Indigenous, Hoklo, Hakka, and many other influences. Taiwan is celebrated for its warm hospitality, bustling night markets, world-class cuisine, cutting-edge technology, and stunning natural scenery — from towering mountains to tropical coastlines.
Taiwan is an island in East Asia, lying off the southeastern coast of mainland China across the Taiwan Strait, with Japan to the northeast and the Philippines to the south. The Tropic of Cancer crosses the middle of the island, giving it a subtropical north and a tropical south.
- Region
- East Asia
- Coordinates
- 23.5° N, 121° E
Fun facts about Taiwan
A few things that make the island hard to ignore.
Taiwan produces 70% of the world's chips and 90% of the most advanced chips.
Those chips sit inside the phones, cars, and AI data centres the rest of the world runs on — which is why an island of 23 million is impossible to ignore.
Read more· CBC News→Taiwan has the best healthcare system in the World 2026
Its single-payer National Health Insurance covers nearly everyone, with short waits and low out-of-pocket costs.
Read more· World Population Review→The story behind bubble tea, Taiwan's iconic drink
Taiwan's most famous export in a cup. Two Taichung tea houses still claim to have invented it in the 1980s by dropping chewy tapioca pearls into iced milk tea.
Read more· National Geographic→How Taiwan Has Achieved One of the Highest Recycling Rates in the World
Once buried in waste and nicknamed "Garbage Island," Taiwan now recycles over half of its household rubbish. Musical garbage trucks bring residents out to sort it on the street.
Read more· Smithsonian Magazine→Taiwan has 286 peaks over 3,000 metres, one of the highest densities of high mountains in the world.
All of it on an island roughly the size of Vancouver Island, topped by Yushan (Jade Mountain) at 3,952 m.
Read more· Alpine Club of Canada→Convenience stores becoming one-stop shops in Taiwan
Pay your bills, ship a parcel, buy concert tickets, do your laundry, or eat a hot meal. With one store for roughly every 2,000 people, Taiwan has among the densest networks in the world.
Read more· CTV News→Taipei Bridge Scooter Waterfall
Every rush hour, thousands of scooters pour off the Taipei Bridge in a single stream — a river of commuters that has become a photographer's pilgrimage.
Read more· Atlas Obscura→