| This article is part of a series on |
| Administrative divisions of Taiwan |
|---|
| Centrally governed |
| Township-level |
| Village-level |
| Neighborhood-level |
|
| Historical divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945) Republic of China (1912–49) |
TheRepublic of China (Taiwan) is divided into multi-layered statutory subdivisions.[1] Due to the complexpolitical status of Taiwan, there is a significant difference in thede jure system set out in the original constitution and thede facto system in use today.
The Republic of China (ROC) government defines theTaiwan Area (Free Area) as its actual controlled territories, which is constitutionally divided into twoprovinces and sixspecial municipalities, with each province subdivided intocities andcounties. After aconstitutional amendment in 1997, the provinces became non-self-governing bodies and remained as nominal divisions under the constitution, with no governing powers. The provincial governments were abolished in 2018.[2] Provincial borders remained for statistical purposes.[3]
With provinces non-functional in practice, Taiwan is divided into 22 subnational divisions (6 special municipalities, 3 cities, and 13 counties), each with a local government led by an elected head and a local council. Special municipalities and cities are further divided into districts for local administration. Counties are further divided intotownships andcounty-administered cities; these divisions have a degree of autonomy with elected leaders and local councils, which share responsibilities with the county governments. Matters for which local governments are responsible or partially responsible include social services, education, urban planning, public construction,water management, environmental protection, transport and public safety.
When the ROC retreated to Taiwan in 1949, its claimed territory consisted of 35 provinces, 12 special municipalities, 1 special administrative region (Hainan) and several autonomous regions (Tibet, reclaimedOuter Mongolia in1953). However, since its retreat, the ROC has controlled onlyTaiwan Province and some islands ofFujian Province. The ROC also controls thePratas Island andTaiping Island in theSpratly Islands, which are part of the disputedSouth China Sea Islands. They were placed underKaohsiung administration after the retreat to Taiwan.[4]
Since 1949, the government has made some changes in the area under its control.Taipei became a special municipality in 1967 andKaohsiung in 1979. The two provincial governments were "streamlined", with their functions transferred to the central government (Fujian in 1956 and Taiwan in 1998).[5] In 2010,New Taipei,Taichung, andTainan were upgraded tospecial municipalities. And in 2014, Taoyuan County was also upgraded toTaoyuan special municipality. This brought the top-level divisions to their current state:[6]
According to Article 4 of the Local Government Act, laws pertaining to special municipalities also apply to counties with a population exceeding 2 million. This provision does not currently apply to any county, although it previously applied to Taipei County (nowNew Taipei City) and Taoyuan County (nowTaoyuan City).
After theWorld War II in 1945, theRepublic of China (1912–1949) received Taiwan (Formosa) andPenghu (the Pescadores) from theEmpire of Japan.[citation needed] After theChinese Civil War in 1949, the ROC was reduced to mainly theisland of Taiwan and someoffshore islands, with thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) controlling the mainland. However, it continued to formally claim all 35 provinces (including those that no longer form part of the area of the People's Republic of China) in official maps by the ROC government and ignored the changes imposed by the PRC. After 1953, the authorities in Taiwan once claimed that Mongolia was ROC territory, but this claim was abolished under theChen Shui-bian administration in 2002.[7] By 1967 and 1979, the ROC set upTaipei andKaohsiung as its special municipalities, with three more added in 2010 and one in 2014. As of 2025, the ROC has not officially renounced claims inmainland China ruled by theCCP,[8] though the ROC has also not recently published official maps depicting mainland China as part of its territory.[9]
This history gives two different sources of the current Taiwanese administrative divisions on thefree area of the Republic of China or Taiwan Area.
In 1945, the ROC replaced theJapanese prefectures with eight counties (Hsinchu, Hualien, Kaohsiung, Penghu, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taitung) and nine cities (Changhwa, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, and Taipei).[11][12]
On 16 August 1950, a law reorganizingTaiwan Province was passed by theExecutive Yuan.[13] In September 1950, the Taiwan Province County and Municipal Administrative District Modification Proposal reorganizedTaiwan Province into 16 counties (Changhwa, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Hualien, Ilan, Kaohsiung, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, Taitung, Taoyuan, Yunlin) and five cities (Kaohsiung, Keelung, Taichung, Tainan, and Taipei).[12] The ROC also retained control ofKinmen County andLienchiang County, bringing the total number of administrative divisions to 23.[11]
In 1967,Taipei became aspecial municipality,[11] separate from Taiwan Province, which gave the central government more direct control of the city.[12] Taipei was followed byKaohsiung in 1979. In 1982,Hsinchu andChiayi were separated from their counties to becomeprovincial cities.[11]
Since 1949, the government has made some changes in the area under its control. The two provincial governments were downscaled and much of their functions transferred to the central or county governments. Sixspecial municipalities have been created.[citation needed]
Since 1949, the most controversial part of the political division system has been the existence ofTaiwan Province, as its existence was part of a larger controversy over thepolitical status of Taiwan. Since 1998, most of the duties and powers ofTaiwan Provincial Government have been transferred to thecentral government, through amendments to the constitution. The much smallerFukien province,Fujian Provincial Government has been downsized since 1956.[citation needed]
There has been some criticism of the current administrative scheme as being inefficient and not conducive to regional planning.[11] In particular, most of the administrative cities are much smaller than the actual metropolitan areas, and there are no formal means for coordinating policy between an administrative city and its surrounding areas.[citation needed] The 1980s and 1990s saw proposals to merge Kaohsiung and Taipei cities with their counties of the same name, although these proposals did not end up being implemented.[12]
Before 2008, the likelihood of consolidation was low. Many of the cities had political demographics which were very different from their surrounding counties, making the prospect of consolidation highly politically charged. For example, while theKuomintang argued that combiningTaipei City,Taipei County, andKeelung City into a metropolitan Taipei region would allow for better regional planning, theDemocratic Progressive Party argued that this was merely an excuse to eliminate the government of Taipei County, which it had at times controlled, by swamping it with votes fromTaipei City andKeelung City, which tended to vote Kuomintang.[citation needed]
On 1 October 2007, Taipei County was upgraded to a quasi-municipality (準直轄市) on the same level as Kaohsiung City and Taipei City.[14] This allowed the county to have the organizational and budgetary framework of ade jure municipality, but it was still formally styled as a county. Taichung County and Tainan City lobbied the central government for similar status.Taoyuan County was also upgraded to a quasi-municipality on 1 January 2011, as its population was above 2 million on the date of elevation.[15]
Under PresidentMa Ying-jeou's administration, the central government has reorganized more counties and cities.[16] Four mergers and promotions were approved in 2009 and became effective on 25 December 2010 and one more became effective on 25 December 2014.[17][18]
The summary of changes on administrative divisions are shown below.
| Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Fujian Province | The provincial capital was moved fromFuzhou toJincheng,Kinmen in 1949. The provincial government was downscaled in 1956 and dissolved in 2019. |
| Taiwan Province | The provincial capital was moved fromTaipei toZhongxing New Village in 1956. The provincial government was downscaled in 1998 and dissolved in 2018. |
| Kaohsiung City | Formerly a provincial city, elevated to a special municipality in 1979. In 2010, a new Kaohsiung special municipality was established by merging formerKaohsiung County with the existing Kaohsiung City. |
| New Taipei City | FormerlyTaipei County, elevated to a special municipality in 2010. |
| Taichung City | Elevated to a special municipality by merging Taichung City andTaichung County in 2010. |
| Tainan City | Elevated to a special municipality by merging Tainan City andTainan County in 2010. |
| Taipei City | Formerly a provincial city, elevated to a special municipality in 1967. |
| Taoyuan City | FormerlyTaoyuan County, elevated to a special municipality in 2014. |
This brought the top-level divisions of Taiwan (ROC) to its current state: 2 nominal provinces without administrative function and 6special municipalities; and under the provinces, 13counties and threecities.[19]
Currently there are three types and in total 22 administrative divisions are directly governed by the central government (Executive Yuan). According to theLocal Government Act ofTaiwan, a place with population more than 1.25 million may become aspecial municipality, a place with population between 0.5 and 1.25 million may become acity. Counties with population more than 2 million may grant some extra privileges in local autonomy that was designed for special municipalities.
| Name | Chinese | Pinyin | Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special municipality | 直轄市 | zhíxiáshì | ti̍t-hat-chhī | 6 | |
| County | 縣 | xiàn | koān | 13 | |
| City | 市 | shì | chhī | 3 |
These 22 divisions are also regulated by theLocal Government Act as local self-governance bodies. Each division has its own executive called "city/county government" and own legislature called "city/county council". The city mayors, county magistrates and all legislators are elected by the people under its jurisdiction every four years. Geographically,
| Special municipalities | Counties | Cities | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaohsiung City New Taipei City Taichung City Tainan City Taipei City Taoyuan City | Changhua County Chiayi County Hsinchu County Hualien County Miaoli County | Nantou County Pingtung County Taitung County Yilan County Yunlin County | Chiayi City Hsinchu City Keelung City |
The 22 main divisions in the country are further divided into 368 subdivisions. These 368 divisions can be categorized as the following.
| Name | Chinese | Pinyin | Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Administered by | Self-gov. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain indigenoustownship | 山地鄉 | shāndì xiāng | soaⁿ-tē hiong | County | Yes | 24 |
| Ruraltownship | 鄉 | xiāng | hiong | County | Yes | 122 |
| Urbantownship | 鎮 | zhèn | tìn | County | Yes | 38 |
| County-administered city | 縣轄市 | xiànxiáshì | koān-hat-chhī | County | Yes | 14 |
| Mountain indigenousdistrict | 原住民區 | yuánzhùmín qū | gôan-chū-bîn khu | Special municipality | Yes | 6 |
| District | 區 | qū | khu | Special municipality City | No | 164 |
According to theLocal Government Act, acounty is divided intotownships andcounty-administered cities. The county seat or place with population between 100,000 and 500,000 may become acounty-administered city. Aspecial municipality or acity is divided intodistricts.
Thetownships,county-administered cities incounties, and mountain indigenousdistrict inspecial municipalities are also local self-governance bodies. Each division has its own executive called "township/city/district office" and own legislature called "township/city/district council". The city mayors, township/district chiefs and all legislators are elected by the people under its jurisdiction every four years. The normaldistricts inspecial municipalities andcities are governed as branches of the municipality/city government and do not hold any local self-governance power.
The mountain indigenoustownship anddistricts are created for its significant population ofTaiwanese indigenous peoples, in these divisions, only Taiwanese indigenous peoples may be elected to be the township/district chiefs.
The 368 divisions are further divided intovillages and neighborhoods.
| Name | Chinese | Pinyin | Pe̍h-ōe-jī | Administered by | No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruralvillage | 村 | cūn | chhun | Mountain indigenoustownship Ruraltownship | 7,835 |
| Urbanvillage | 里 | lǐ | lí | Urbantownship County-administered city Mountain indigenousdistrict District | |
| Neighborhood | 鄰 | lín | lîn | Ruralvillage Urbanvillage | 147,877 |
The village chiefs are elected by the people under its jurisdiction every four years. The neighborhood chiefs are appointed by the village chief.
The central government operates five regional Joint Service Centers (JSC,區域聯合服務中心) outsideTaipei as outposts of the government ministries in theExecutive Yuan, similar to the cross-departmental mode of working in the formerGovernment Offices in England. These regions, laid out the Comprehensive NationalSpatial Development Plan for Taiwan (臺灣地區國土綜合開發計劃), can be considered ade facto level of government, perhaps equivalent to theEnglish regions or thefederal districts of Russia.
| Name | Chinese | Date of creation | Service area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Taiwan JSC | 南部聯合服務中心 | Jun. 1, 1998 | Kaohsiung,Penghu,Pingtung |
| Central Taiwan JSC | 中部聯合服務中心 | May 14, 2003 | Changhua,Miaoli,Nantou,Taichung |
| Eastern Taiwan JSC | 東部聯合服務中心 | Sep. 29, 2007 | Hualien,Taitung |
| Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan JSC | 雲嘉南區聯合服務中心 | Mar. 27, 2012 | Chiayi (city andcounty),Tainan,Yunlin |
| Kinmen-Matsu JSC | 金馬聯合服務中心 | Jan. 18, 2017 | Kinmen,Lienchiang |
The divisions of northern Taiwan are not covered by any JSC, includingHsinchu (city andcounty),Keelung,New Taipei,Taipei,Taoyuan andYilan. They are served directly by the headquarter ofExecutive Yuan inTaipei.
Theromanization used for Taiwaneseplacenames above the county level is a modified form ofWade–Giles, ignoring the apostrophes and hyphens of the original, thus yielding "Taipei" instead of "T'ai-pei" and "Yilan" instead of "I-lan", for example. Somepostal romanizations also exist, like "Keelung" and "Kinmen".In 2002, the ROC adoptedTongyong Pinyin as its national standard for romanization. Mosttownships andcounty-administered cities changed their romanization to Tongyong Pinyin at that time. However, some local administrations, likeTaipei andTaichung, decided to useHanyu Pinyin. In 2009, Tongyong Pinyin was replaced byHanyu Pinyin as the ROC government standard.[20][21] Currently, most of the divisions are romanized byHanyu Pinyin system, but some local governments still useTongyong Pinyin, likeKaohsiung. In 2011, the ROC Ministry of the Interior restored historical romanizations for two towns,Lukang andTamsui.
In October 1945, the people of Outer Mongolia voted for independence, gaining the recognition of many countries, including the Republic of China. (...) Due to a souring of relations with the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, however, the ROC revoked recognition of Outer Mongolia, reclaiming it as ROC territory. {...} Long a province of China, Mongolia declared its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. After the Ministry of the Interior's recent decision to exclude Mongolia from the official ROC map, on Oct. 3, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Taiwan recognizes Mongolia as an independent country -- 81 years after Mongolia declared its independence.
Article 3: The enforcement areas of Subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Act shall refer to areas under control of the Chinese Communists.
Administrative divisions of Asia | |
|---|---|
| Sovereign states |
|
| States with limited recognition | |
| Dependencies and other territories | |
.svg)
