science

ISO 3166-2:TW

ISO 3166-2:TW is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ISO 3166-2:TW rather than just read about it. In short: ISO 3166-2:TW is the entry for Taiwan, "Taiwan, Province of China", or "Taiwan (Province of China)", in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions (e.g., provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1. ISO 3166-2:TW defines codes for the subdivisions of Taiwan located on th…

Key takeaways

ISO 3166-2:TW belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect ISO 3166-2:TW to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of ISO 3166-2:TW from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

ISO 3166-2:TW is the entry for Taiwan, "Taiwan, Province of China", or "Taiwan (Province of China)", in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions (e.g., provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1. ISO 3166-2:TW defines codes for the subdivisions of Taiwan located on the islands of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu (Pescadores), Kinmen, Matsu (Lienchiang), and their subsidiary islands. These areas are de facto under the administration of the government of the Republic of China which resides in Taipei. The government of the People's Republic of China, which resides in Beijing, also claims these islands but considers ROC-held Fujian islands of Kinmen and Matsu to be within its Fujian Province, not its nominal Taiwan Province (ISO 3166-2 code: CN-TW). Currently ISO 3166-2:TW lists 13 counties, three cities and six special municipalities. Constitutionally the counties and cities are part of the ROC provinces of Taiwan and Fujian, but since the provincial governments were largely streamlined in 1998 these 22 subdivisions are regarded as the principal subdivisions of Republic of China (Taiwan).

Format Each code consists of two parts, separated by a hyphen. The first part is TW, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of Taiwan. The second part is three letters. The divisions in the list are categorized in three types: Cities: Romanized as shih (市) and formerly called "municipalities" in ISO 3166-2. The divisions carry City (市) in their official names. Counties: Romanized as hsien (縣) and formerly called "districts" in ISO 3166-2. The divisions carry County (縣) in their official names. Special municipalities: Romanized as chih-hsia-shih (直轄市). The divisions also carry City (市) in their official names. Taiwan is currently assigned the ISO 3166-2 code CN-TW under ISO 3166-2:CN, as China solely claims it as a province of China.

Current codes Subdivision names are listed as in the ISO 3166-2 standard published by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA).

Notes

Changes The following changes to the entry have been announced by the ISO 3166/MA since the first publication of ISO 3166-2 in 1998. ISO stopped issuing newsletters in 2013.

See also Administrative divisions of Taiwan FIPS region codes of Taiwan Taiwan, China#Taiwanese reactions

References

External links ISO Online Browsing Platform: TW Counties of Taiwan, Statoids.com

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ISO 3166-2:TW

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ISO 3166-2:TW claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ISO 3166-2:TW before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ISO 3166-2:TW ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ISO 3166-2:TW

In research: ISO 3166-2:TW appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses ISO 3166-2:TW in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: ISO 3166-2:TW is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics ISO 3166, Subdivisions of Taiwan, Taiwan geography-related lists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for ISO 3166-2:TW outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study ISO 3166-2:TW in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what ISO 3166-2:TW means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain ISO 3166-2:TW out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ISO 3166-2:TW in simple terms?

Why does ISO 3166-2:TW matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ISO 3166-2:TW?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ISO 3166-2:TW.