Taiwan at its true size
Taiwan covers 36,193 km², number 134 of 194 countries by area. Home to 23,262,544 people (2026). Sitting near the equator, it is one of the few places Mercator gets almost right.
Equal-area projection · Natural Earth 50m
| Area | 36,193 km² Wikidata |
|---|---|
| Population | 23,262,544 Wikidata, 2026 |
| Density | 643 per km² |
| Capital | Taipei |
| Local time in Taipei | |
| Time zone | UTC+8 IANA |
| Currency | New Taiwan dollar (TWD) Wikidata |
| Languages | Taiwanese Hokkien, Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Seediq, Bunun, Yami, Rukai, Puyuma, Tsou, Saisiyat, Kavalan, Standard Taiwanese Mandarin, Kanakanavu, Sakizaya, Saaroa, Taiwanese Sign Language, Taiwanese Hakka, Matsu dialect, Truku, Kinmen dialect, Wuqiu dialect |
| Traffic | On the right |
| Region | Eastern Asia, Asia |
| Status | Independent state |
| Coast | Has a coastline |
| Calling code | +886 |
| Codes | TW · TWN · 158 |
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Weather data: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), updated hourly · Temperatures on the map
Where Taiwan ranks
Among the independent states, in 5 rankings. Each links to its table.
People
Governance & safety
Countries of a similar size
Every country within 25% of Taiwan’s area, lit up on the map →
- Guinea-Bissau1.0×Taiwan and Guinea-Bissau are almost exactly the same size.
- Bhutan0.94×Taiwan is 6% smaller than Bhutan.
- Moldova1.07×Taiwan is 7% larger than Moldova.
- Switzerland0.88×Taiwan is 12% smaller than Switzerland.
- Netherlands0.86×Taiwan is 14% smaller than Netherlands.
- Belgium1.18×Taiwan is 18% larger than Belgium.
How many times does Taiwan fit into…
- Russia: about 472 times
- Canada: about 276 times
- United States: about 272 times
The land itself
Rivers, summits and lakes Taiwan shares with the rest of the world. Turn on “Rivers & lakes” and “Physical names” in the atlas to see them on the map.
Summits
- Yushan Main Peak3,952 m
Rivers are listed by the published length of their whole course, not the part inside Taiwan. Figures from Wikidata, features from Natural Earth.
Questions about Taiwan
- How big is Taiwan?
- Taiwan covers 36,193 km², which makes it number 134 of 194 countries by area. About 23,262,544 people live there (2026), 643 per km².
- Is Taiwan bigger than Guinea-Bissau?
- Taiwan and Guinea-Bissau are almost exactly the same size. Taiwan: 36,193 km²; Guinea-Bissau: 36,125 km².
- How much does the Mercator map distort Taiwan?
- Taiwan lies close to the equator, so Mercator draws it at nearly its true size. It is the countries far from the equator that Mercator inflates.
- Does Taiwan have land borders?
- No. Taiwan has no land neighbours; every border is a coastline.