Taiwan (Chinese: 臺灣 / 台灣), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is considered a country in East Asia by some countries (including 13 countries and Vatican City/Holy), while other countries and the United Nations have not officially recognized its status as a country. Not to be confused with the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Republic of China (Taiwan) once governed all of China (from 1911 to 1949), but moved to the island of Taiwan after a Chinese civil war. In the years since, the PRC (People's Republic of China) has become the recognized government of China (replacing the ROC at the United Nations in 1971), and the status of the ROC has been left not said.
The country of Taiwan comprises the island of Taiwan with the nearby islands (Pescadores islands and parts of Fujian). Taiwan is located southeast of the People's Republic of China's mainland, south of Japan, and north of the Philippines. The capital is Taipei.
Taiwan has also been called Formosa, a Portuguese name which means "beautiful" in Portuguese.
Most people living in Taiwan (called Taiwanese) are Han. Taiwan has three large Han groups. They speak different dialects (languages) of Chinese and their ancestors came from different places: the Southern Fujianese (from China's Fujian Province), the Hakka (from China), and Mainlanders (from Mainland China after 1948).
There are also Taiwanese Aborigines (native tribes called Taiwanese Aborigines) who have lived in Taiwan before the Han came to live there.
The largest cities in Taiwan are the capital, Taipei, and the port city of Kaohsiung.