Education system

These changes in the population pyramid will in future place great pressure on the social structure of the island. Because of this problem, the government of Taiwan in April 2012 implemented a new 12-year education system and renewed the teaching method to improve the island's education system. In addition, the government has introduced a new form of public health insurance (National Health Insurance), which makes the health system more accessible to all Taiwanese, which has improved safety and living standards among the island's population in general.

Education is an important component of government policymaking and accounts for a large portion of the budget. With an increasing emphasis on attaining tertiary education, those with a technical college or university degree account for 46 percent of Taiwan’s population aged 15 and above, a 10 percentage point increase over the past decade.

Religions

The most widespread religions on the island are Buddhism and Taoism which 93% (figures from the year 2013) of the island's population worship. Christianity accounted for 4.5% in 2013 and Islam and other religions accounted for the last 2.5%. The official language is standard Chinese (Mandarin), which is spoken throughout Taiwan. But also native languages ??like Minianyu and Hakka dialect are very prevalent especially outside Taipei. In addition, English is the most widespread foreign language due in part to the United States' significant influence on Taiwan since 1949. Other languages ??such as German and French have also become more popular for Taiwanese to learn due to increasing imports of European products and growing interest in Western cultures. .

The population

The population consists mainly of Chinese who through the ages have immigrated from the mainland - of which about 20% originate from immigration after 1949. In 2012, the original population group of Polynesian descent made up only 2% of the population. In addition, 2.5% of the population are people from other countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.

Housing is of generally good quality in Taiwan, and a high proportion of the population resides in homes or apartments they own. Homelessness is not a problem. However, many citizens have not been able to easily afford an apartment or a house near their employment, prices having increased exponentially with Taiwan’s economic growth.