Taiwan is a country in East Asia that is officially the Republic of China. It is in the northwestern Pacific Ocean at the point where the East and South China Seas meet, with Japan to the northeast, the Philippines to the south, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, has an area of 35,808 square kilometers (13,826 sq mi), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The territories controlled by the ROC consist of 168 islands[p]. Along with New Taipei City and Keelung, Taiwan's capital, Taipei, is the largest metropolitan area. Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan, and Taoyuan are additional significant cities. Taiwan is one of the world's most populous nations, with approximately 23.9 million people living there.

There have been people living in Taiwan for at least 25,000 years. Around 6,000 years ago, Taiwan's indigenous peoples' ancestors settled the island. Large-scale immigration of Han Chinese, particularly the Hakkas and Hoklos, to western Taiwan began in a Dutch colony in the 17th century and continued under the Kingdom of Tungning, the first state in Taiwanese history with a majority of Han Chinese. The Qing dynasty of China annexed the island in 1683 and gave it to the Empire of Japan in 1895. After Japan surrendered in 1945, the Republic of China, which had overthrown the Qing in 1911, took control of Taiwan. In 1952, Japan would abdicate its jurisdiction over Taiwan. The Chinese mainland was lost to Communist forces, who established the People's Republic of China, and the ROC central government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after the immediate resumption of the Chinese Civil War. Since then, the ROC's actual jurisdiction has been restricted to Taiwan, Penghu, and smaller islands.