Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Taiwan instead of China, you would:

Health

live 3.1 years longer

In China, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Taiwan, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022.

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Geography

see 89.2% less coastline

China has a total of 14,500 km of coastline. In Taiwan, that number is 1,566 km.

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Sources: The World Factbook (2022), World Bank (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: China vs. Taiwan

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Taiwan is 42.5% more expensive than China overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
China is about 267 times bigger than Taiwan.
→
Moving from China to Taiwan · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Shanghai vs Taipei
→

Taiwan: At a glance

Taiwan is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 32,260 sq km. In 1895, military defeat forced China's Qing Dynasty to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan came under Chinese Nationalist control after World War II. Following the communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1947 constitution drawn up for all of China. Beginning in the 1950s, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the local population within the governing structure. This process expanded rapidly in the 1980s. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist (Kuomintang or KMT) to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be management of sensitive relations between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of Taiwan's eventual status - as well as domestic priorities for economic reform and growth.
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How big is Taiwan compared to China? See an in-depth size comparison.

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