This piece has all the latest data regarding various aspects of Taiwan. Statistics include demographics, military, economics, and more. Keep reading to find more information on Taiwan.
I love data. It helps me understand how something/someone performs in a specific area. That led me to gather the latest data I could on many matters related to Taiwan.
This guide is full of cold data. Nothing else.
Taiwan’s Freedom House Scores
Taiwan has a Freedom House index of 94 out of 100.
It also scores well in these areas:
- Political Rights: 38/40
- Civil Liberties: 56/60
- Internet Freedom Score: 78/100
Military Data
Here’s Taiwan’s publicly known information about its military numbers.
- Active Personnel: 169,000 (estimated)
- Navy Size: 90 combat-capable surface and subsurface vessels
- Multi Launch Rocket Systems: 200
- Towered and Self-Propelled Artillery: 1,000
- Battle Tanks: 1,000
6. They also have 1,660,000 reserve personnel.
Way more than 700,000 reserve personnel than the US has. And still more than the 465,000 reserve personnel Israel has.
7. 2.5% of GDP goes toward military funding.
For reference, China’s military spending accounts for 1.7% of its GDP. However, China spends $296 billion on its military, while Taiwan spends $19.74 billion.
Geography Data
1. Taiwan has 20,000 earthquakes a year. Most quakes are between the magnitudes of 4.4 and 5.7.
Their deadliest earthquake was 7.3 ML or 7.7 Mw in 1999. This quake caused 2,415 deaths and $10 billion (USD) in damage.
Their most intense earthquake was in 1920 off the coast of Hualien, which had a magnitude of 8.2 Mw. This only resulted in 8 deaths.
2. They have an average of 11 typhoons annually.
Their most severe typhoon was Typhoon Morakot. It had wind speeds of up to 90 mph (150 km) and killed 789 people.
3. 80.2% of the population lives in urban areas.
These special municipalities include:
- New Taipei
- Taipei
- Kaohsiung
- Taichung
- Tainan
4. 6 recorded instances of tsunamis have hit Taiwan since 1661.
Demographic Data
1. 2.3 – 2.4% of Taiwan’s population are indigenous peoples.
These tribes include the following:
| Tribe | Number of People |
|---|---|
| Amis | 213,514 |
| Bunun | 59,536 |
| Truku | 32,333 |
| Sediq | 10,452 |
| Sakizaya | 985 |
| Kavalan | 1,492 |
| Atayal | 92,084 |
| Paiwan | 102,730 |
| Pinuyumayan | 14,517 |
| Rukai | 13,465 |
| Cou | 6,702 |
| Saisiyat | 6,730 |
| Yami | 4,684 |
| Thao | 817 |
| Hla’alua | 413 |
| Kanakanavu | 356 |
2. The Han ethnic group makes up 95%, and new immigrants make up 2.6%.
When I mention Han Chinese, I also refer to subgroups like the Hakka people (in this scenario).
3. Taiwan’s population is 23,412,899 at the time of writing (August 2024).
- Number of females: 11,872,410
- Number of males: 11,540,489
They don’t have information for transgender folks.
4. They had 6.49 million visitors in 2023.
Way fewer than the 11.86 million visitors they had in 2019 (pre-COVID-19).
5. 24% of Taiwanese homes are single-person households. 12.6% of households have 5+ people.
Taiwan Economic Data
Here’s some data to help you understand what Taiwan’s economy looks like:
- Economic growth rate: 3.39% (YoY).
- Inflation rate: 2.52% as of July 2024.
- Unemployment rate: 3.38%.
- Lower than the average global rate of 5.1% (2023).
- Online shopping rate: 51.3%.
- 84.86% are ages 30-39 and use e-commerce apps.
- 56.39% are female.
- 87.10% are graduate school students.
- 61.58% live in Miaoli, Hsinchu, and/or Taoyuan.
- GDP per capita: $33,610 as of 2024.
6. The regular monthly earnings of all employees is NT$45,917 ($1,415 USD).
7. The average Taiwanese person in 2022 has USD 17,659 in disposable income per capita.
This number is expected to grow to $27,237 in 2032.
8. KTV parlors generate 37% of Taiwan’s entertainment tax revenue (2021).
9. Taiwan has USD 567.02 billion in foreign exchange reserves.
10. There are 365 cars per 1,000 people in Taiwan.
11. The country has a 55% recycling rate. They recycle 73% of their plastic.
The rest of their unrecycled goods go to the incinerator or landfill.
Various Companies’ Market Share in Taiwan
1. Convenience stores are Taiwan’s largest grocery channel, with a market size of USD 9.8 billion.
7-Eleven has a 59.7% market share (in 2022).
Family Mart has the second-highest share at 29.8%.
Let’s just compare all the market shares for convenience stores:
| 7-Eleven | Family Mart | Hi-Life | OKmart | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locations | 6,631 – 6,712+ | 4,100+ | 1,542+ | 900+ |
| HQ | USA | Japan | Taiwan | Taiwan |
| Market Share | 59.7% | 29.8% | 8% | 2.5% |
2. Carrefour has the highest hypermarket market share at 20.6%.
And here are the other hypermarket market shares compared:
| Hypermarket | Market Share |
|---|---|
| Carrefour | 20.6% |
| RT Mart | 9.9% |
| a.mart | 6.4% |
| Others | 63.1% |
PX Mart has the largest supermarket share at 62.4%.
Here are the supermarket market shares for other stores as of 2024:
| Supermarket | Market Share |
|---|---|
| PX Mart | 62.4% |
| Carrefour | 13% |
| Simple Mart | 5.2% |
| Funcom | 3.1% |
| Mia C’bon | 1.7% |
| City Super | 1.1% |
| Others | 13.5% |
3. Costco Taiwan has a sales CAGR of 9.6% between 2022 and 2027.
4. Shopee has the highest e-commerce market share in Taiwan at 21.4% as of 2023.
Momo Shop has the second-highest at 19.5%.
And here are all the others:
| Market Share | YoY Growth | |
| Shopee | 21.4% | 35.9% |
| Momo Shop | 19.5% | 14.4% |
| PC Home | 9.7% | -1.5% |
| Yahoo! Buy | 9.5% | 7% |
| Lativ | 2.8% | NA |
| 7-Eleven | 1.9% | NA |
| Rakuten Marketplace | 1.5% | NA |
| Pinkoi | NA | NA |
| Books.com.tw | NA | NA |
| ETMall | NA | NA |
5. Food Panda has a 52% market share of food delivery services in Taiwan (2023).
UberEats has a 48% market share.
As of 2024, UberEats acquired FoodPanda.
We will have to sit back and watch what’ll happen to both businesses.
Technology Data
I want to use this section to compare Taiwan to the United States in various areas:
| Data Point | Taiwan | United States | Year Data is From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5G Usage Rate | 26.77% | 59% | 2023 |
| Broadband Penetration Rate | 65.32% | 80% | 2023 |
| Mobile Penetration Rate | 81.47% | 96% | 2023 |
| Internet Access Rate | 84.3% | 94.6% | 2024 |
| Mobile Payment Usage Rate | 34.27% | 32% | 2024 |
| Cryptocurrency Holding Rate | 2.01% | 21% | 2024 |
| E-Book Usage | 23.56% | NA | 2024 |
| Online Game Usage Rate | 35.76% | 22.4% | 2024 |
| Social Media Users on Facebook | 51.61% | 68% | 2024 |
Taiwan doesn’t outperform the US in any of the above categories other than online game usage.
However, considering Taiwan’s size and geopolitical situation, it fares well.
There is one area where Taiwan destroys the US.
Taiwan Semiconductor Statistics
1. Taiwan accounts for 18% of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
They produce 60% of the world’s semiconductors. And 90% of the planet’s most advanced conductors.
2. TSMC has a 61% market share of the global semiconductor foundry market (2024).
Samsung has an 11.3% market share.
3. TSMC employees account for 1.8% of Taiwan’s newborns (2024).
4. At the time of this writing, Taiwan’s TSMC has the 9-highest market cap of all businesses globally.
I won’t bother publishing the market cap (and the rankings) since this information changes daily.
To provide context, 8/10 businesses in the top 10 list are from the United States. The only other company outside the States is Saudi Aramco — Saudi Arabia’s state-owned natural gas and petroleum company.
Taiwanese Food Statistics
1. Taiwan imports 20% of its food and beverages from the United States.
2. Meat is the largest food and beverages category in Taiwan with USD 4.92 billion worth of food consumed (in 2022)
3. Taiwanese drank more than 2.85 billion cups of coffee (2021), with an average of 122 cups per person each year.
4. The average Taiwanese person drinks 1.4 kg of tea each year.
5. 29.7% of Taiwanese use food and beverage delivery services (e.g., Uber Eats).
6. Experts expect Taiwan’s food and beverage market to rise at a CAGR of 3.7% between the years 2022 and 2027.
FAQs
Is Taiwan a Democracy or Communist?
Taiwan is a multi-party democracy with democratically elected presidents. This has been the case since 1996. After Taiwan transitioned from being a single-party state during its time under martial law.
Is Taiwan Financially Stable?
Taiwan is financially stable and in a comfortable financial position. In Q2 2024, its economic growth rate was 5.09% year-on-year.
Is Taiwan Overcrowded?
Yes, Taiwan is overcrowded. As of 2024, it’s the 14th most densely populated country in the world with 676.37 people per square kilometer. Compare that to the United States, which has 37 people per square kilometer.
Sources
- Taiwan Military. Cove. 2024.
- Taiwan Announces an Increased Defense Budget for 2024. Global Taiwan Institute. 2023.
- Taiwan F&B Retail Overview. Retail Overview. 2023 (PDF).
- Taiwan Tourism Market. Taiwan Tourism Bureau. 2019.
- Statistical Information. National Statistics, Taiwan. 2024.
- Taiwan. Freedom House. 2024.
- Links. Ministry of Economic Affairs. 2024.
- Cultural Assets. National Cultural Assets Council. 2024.
- Water Resources. Water Resources Agency, Taiwan. 2024.
- Ministry of Finance. Ministry of Finance, Taiwan. 2024.
- Investment in Taiwan. Invest Taiwan. 2024.
- Taiwan Government. Taiwan Government. 2024.
- Trend Analysis of Internet Usage. TWNIC. 2022.
- National Statistics, Taiwan. National Statistics, Taiwan. 2024.