Regions of Taiwan


The regions of Taiwan are based on historical administrative divisions. However, most of the definitions are not precise.

Division into two regions

The most widely used definition is from the Council for Economic Planning and Development, Executive Yuan. This division into four regions scheme corresponds to the prefectures under Qing dynasty rule.

Division into five regions

The scheme of division into five regions is a fusion of the tetrachotomy and hexachotomy schemes. Although no specific names are given in each division, it is the most commonly used scheme among the highest divisions of the central government. This scheme is used by the Joint Service Centers under Executive Yuan and the jurisdiction of High Court Branches under Judicial Yuan.
No.Present divisionsJoint Service CenterHigh Court Branch
1Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City/County, YilanTaiwan HC
2Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua, NantouCentral Taiwan JSCTaiwan HC Taichung BC
3Yunlin, Chiayi City/County, TainanYunlin-Chiayi-Tainan JSCTaiwan HC Tainan BC
4Kaohsiung, Pingtung, PenghuSouthern Taiwan JSCTaiwan HC Kaohsiung BC
5Hualien, TaitungEastern Taiwan JSCTaiwan HC Hualien BC
Kinmen, Matsu Kinmen-Matsu JSCFuchien HC Kinmen BC

Division into six regions

The division into six regions scheme corresponds to the prefectures under Japanese rule. This scheme was used for national electoral districts in the legislative elections in 1972, 1975, 1980, 1983, and 1986. The discussion of this scheme became popular after the elections of five new municipalities in 2010.