Taiwan covers only 36% of South Korea’s area, yet has a surprisingly similar north-south length. 🇹🇼🇰🇷 #Taiwan #SouthKorea #Maps

PLA aircraft activity around Taiwan continued to increase in May 2026, with 274 sorties and 72 median line crossings recorded. Activity remains below 2025 levels but has returned to a near-daily pattern. #Taiwan #MilitaryAviation #DataViz #china #apac

A different Taiwan bucket list: the island’s extreme points, geographic center, Tropic of Cancer, and highest mountain. How many have you visited? 🇹🇼 #Taiwan #Travel #Geography

42,000 km of roads. That’s enough to redraw Taiwan almost perfectly. The island’s transportation network reveals its cities, mountains, valleys, and coastlines without showing any of them directly. #Taiwan #Maps #Geography

Taiwan may soon see its first typhoon of the season. This map shows where typhoons made landfall in Taiwan between 1950 and 2025. Most storms strike the east coast first, while only a few have reached the northern west coast. #Taiwan #Typhoon #Weather #Maps

Taiwan’s geographic position is more complex than many people realize. Depending on the location, the nearest foreign territory may be closer to Japan, the Philippines, or China. 🇹🇼 #Taiwan #Maps #Geography

Beyond Elephant Mountain: some of the best places to photograph Taipei 101 are hidden across the city. 📷🇹🇼 #Taiwan #Taipei101 #Travel

Taiwan recorded 1,046,327 foreign residents in March 2026, an increase of 8.8% compared to one year earlier. Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines remain the largest groups. #Taiwan #Migration #DataViz

Taiwan is known for its scorching summers, but the island’s climate is surprisingly diverse. Most of Taiwan is temperate, south is tropical, and highest mountains even reach tundra climate similar to northern Canada or Greenland. All on one small island. #Taiwan #Climate #Geography #Maps #DataViz

Every orange dot is a convenience store. Taiwan has more than 14,000 convenience stores, and together they almost redraw the island’s urban geography. 🇹🇼 #Taiwan #Maps #DataViz

Taiwan’s convenience store density is on another level. 🇹🇼 Even the east coast has more stores per capita than southern Taiwan. And tiny Matsu reaches 132 convenience stores per 100,000 people with just 18 stores for 13,600 residents. #Taiwan #DataVisualization #Cartography #UrbanGeography

Taiwan has 14,021 convenience stores as of May 2026. 🇹🇼 New Taipei City leads with 2,518 stores, while Banqiao District alone has 333, the highest district total in Taiwan. Convenience stores have become part of daily infrastructure here. #Taiwan #ConvenienceStore #Ma

Taiwan’s convenience store density is on another level. 7-Eleven alone operates more than 7,300 stores and is present in almost every district in #Taiwan. FamilyMart also has a strong nationwide presence, while Hi-Life and OK Mart focus more on urban areas. #7Eleven #ConvenienceStore #Taipei #Asia

Taiwan has 14,021 convenience stores as of May 2026, based on my own count using official store locator websites. 7-Eleven dominates with 7,347 stores, followed by FamilyMart with 4,436. #Taiwan #DataVisualization #Maps #RetailTrends #ConvenienceStore

This 1899 German atlas map labels present-day Taichung as “Taiwan-fu”. After Taiwan became a Qing province in 1887, central Taiwan was planned as the location for a new provincial capital. The capital was later moved to Taipei. #Taiwan #Taichung #History #HistoricalMaps #Maps

Taiwan was surprisingly late in building metro systems.Taipei’s MRTopened in 1996.Today Taiwan has 3 metro systems and all are expanding.Starting later also meant learning from other countries, resulting in some of the cleanest and most reliable MRT systems. #Taiwan #PublicTransport #Infrastructure

PLA activity around Taiwan increased in April 2026: 229 aircraft sorties, 56 median line crossings. Still below 2025 levels, but higher than earlier this year. Daily activity has resumed. #Taiwan #Geopolitics #IndoPacific #Military #DataVisualization

Just 12 countries maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan: 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands 🇵🇼 Palau 🇹🇻 Tuvalu 🇸🇿 Eswatini 🇻🇦 Vatican City 🇧🇿 Belize 🇬🇹 Guatemala 🇭🇹 Haiti 🇵🇾 Paraguay 🇰🇳 St. Kitts & Nevis 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia 🇻🇨 St. Vincent & the Grenadines #taiwan #eswatini #foreignrelations

Countries with the most motorbikes (including all engine-powered two-wheelers). Taiwan ranks 8th globally with ~14 million motorbikes, but #1 per capita at about 60 per 100 people. #Taiwan #DataViz #Transportation

A total of 1,875 foreign nationals became Taiwanese citizens. Vietnam ranked first with 1,100 cases, followed by the Philippines (253) and Indonesia (170). Marriage-based naturalization remains the main pathway, while voluntary naturalization and high-talent programs make up only a small share.

SIPRI reports that global military spending reached US$2,887 billion in 2025, marking the 11th consecutive annual increase. Taiwan increased its military spending by 14% to US$18.2 billion and ranks 22nd globally. #Taiwan #DefenseSpending #GlobalSecurity #Geopolitics

Earlier I posted about rising naturalizations of German citizens in Taiwan. Looking at total foreign naturalizations, the trend is different. Marriage-based naturalization remains the main pathway every year. The peak was 5,366 in 2017. In 2025, the total was 1,875. #Taiwan #DataViz #Naturalization

For my German followers Since 2025, German citizens can keep their passport when becoming Taiwanese citizens. It will be interesting to see how this affects the numbers in 2026. Second chart showing all naturalizations in Taiwan overall coming soon. #Taiwan #DualCitizenship #ExpatsInTaiwan

Here is your Friday Fun Fact: Taipei is closer to Japan than to Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. Japan’s Yonaguni Island is about 160 km away from Taipei, while Kaohsiung is about 290 km away. #Taiwan #Taipei #Japan #GeographyFacts #FridayFunFact

Throwback Thursday While cleaning up at home, I found this old map of Taipei’s MRT network. Who remembers when the green and orange lines were still going to Beitou and Danshui (now known as Tamsui)? #TaipeiMRT #TaipeiMetro #TaiwanHistory #ThrowbackThursday #TaipeiLife

Top 10 Taiwanese companies by market cap, April 2026. TSMC accounts for about 44% of total market capitalization of all listed companies. Second-ranked company is at around 4%. Two banks in the top 10, rest technology companies. #StockMarket #Semiconductors #TechIndustry #Investing #GlobalMarkets

Taiwan imports about 95% of its fossil fuels. In 2024, roughly 70% of its crude oil came from the Middle East, underscoring the importance of the Strait of Hormuz. #EnergySecurity #GlobalTrade #MiddleEast #Taiwan #OilMarkets

More than 23 million people live in Taiwan, but the population is far from evenly distributed. In fact, about half of the population is concentrated in just a small number of districts, mainly in major urban areas. #Taiwan #UrbanGeography #PopulationDensity #DataVisualization #Maps

Taiwan redrawn by its rivers. Orange rivers flow west into the Taiwan Strait, while green rivers run east toward the Pacific. This map also has a personal note: it was the very first one I created and the starting point for Taiwan Maps & Dataviz. #Taiwan #Geography #Maps #DataVisualization

Here is your Friday fun fact: if you follow the same latitude east or west from Taiwan, you will reach the coastlines of the regions shown on this map. What surprised me most is that southern Taiwan aligns with both Hong Kong and Hawaii. #GeographyFacts #DidYouKnow #PacificRegion #TravelGeography

Kaohsiung Metro at a glance. Opened in 2008, the system now has 3 lines, 76 stations, and 64.8 km of track. More lines and extensions are already under construction to expand the network. #Taiwan #Kaohsiung #PublicTransport #UrbanPlanning #TransitMaps

Taiwan has more than 23 million people living on a relatively small island. In theory, they are spread across the whole country. In practice, it often feels more like this. #Taiwan #MapHumor #Geography #UrbanPlanning

Summer is slowly returning to Taiwan. This map is a small reminder of what that actually feels like. And if you think it’s already hot, summer hasn’t even properly started yet. #Taiwan #SummerWeather #HeatAndHumidity #TravelAsia #WeatherFacts

Maps I created for my German-speaking audience showing how many people from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland live in Taiwan. Latest data (Feb 2026, NIA). Only ARC/APRC/Gold Card holders included, so totals are likely higher. Germany ↑ | Austria ↓ | Switzerland ~ stable

Portuguese explorers reached Taiwan in 1583. They were so impressed by its beauty that they called the island “Ilha Formosa” — literally, “beautiful island.” Anyone who has had the chance to visit Taiwan and experience its nature will likely agree with this name.

Taipei’s MRT gets all the attention. But Taichung MRT is quietly expanding: 1 line running, more under construction and planned. It’s not a typical subway either, most of it runs above ground.

Florida’s southern point and Taiwan’s northern point sit at roughly the same latitude. Similar climate, storms, and even city partnerships like Orlando–Tainan. So… what would be Taiwan’s version of “Florida Man”?

PLA activity around Taiwan in March 2026: 171 aircraft sorties, the lowest monthly total since August 2022. Patterns remain unchanged, with regular large-scale incursions (peak: 36 aircraft in one day). Naval presence steady at 7 vessels per day.

If Taiwan’s counties had more “honest” names… Some real, some imagined — all unofficial. Happy April 1.

Maps of primary language use in Taiwan, based on 2020 census data. “Primary” refers to the language mainly used in daily life—most people are multilingual. Indigenous (Formosan) languages are grouped for clarity.

Historical maps of Taiwan from the 18. and 19. centuries, kindly shared by Instagram follower @votre_carte_acienne. First map was created by French cartographer Rigobert Bonne in 1771. Second map is also by him, though its exact date is unclear. Third map was produced by Andriveau-Goujon in 1884.

The Department of Road Administration and Traffic Safety (MOTC) has released data on road traffic fatalities for 2025. These maps show fatalities per 100,000 residents by county—one for all road users and one for pedestrians. The official website presents the data mainly as absolute numbers.

Most people never think about them. But Taiwan’s coastline is full of lighthouses. And many of them are in places that are absolutely worth the trip.

I bet you didn’t know how many global brands come from Taiwan.

More vehicles than people. Taiwan crossed that line in 2025. This map shows where vehicle registrations already exceed the population.

Visitors often notice it immediately: Taiwan runs on scooters. Taiwan has 14.3 million registered motorcycles. This map shows how many there are per 100 residents across the island, with the highest numbers in southern Taiwan.

Many followers asked for a map showing the current expansion of the Taipei–New Taipei metro network. This map highlights lines under construction or about to start construction, including the Circular Line extensions that will form a future outer metro ring around Taipei.

Taipei’s MRT opened 30 years ago. It’s not the biggest metro network, but it’s often ranked among the cleanest, most reliable, and easiest to navigate. What’s your experience with the MRT?

Taiwan redrawn by roads. Total length of Taiwan’s road network is about 42,000 km. It is so dense, it redraws the islands and main geographic features.

Typhoon season hasn’t started yet in Taiwan. This map shows where past typhoons made landfall along the coast. Have you experienced one?