Administrative divisions of Taiwan
Name Chinese Pinyin Pe̍h-ōe-jī Administered by Self-gov No
Mountain indigenous township 山地鄕 shāndì xiāng soaⁿ-tē hiong County Yes 24
Rural township 鄕 xiāng hiong County Yes 122
Urban township 鎭 zhèn tìn County Yes 38
County-administered city 縣轄市 xiànxiáshì koān-hat-chhī County Yes 14
Mountain indigenous district 原住民區 yuánzhùmín qū gôan-chū-bîn khu Special municipality Yes 6
District 區 qū khu Special municipality City No 164
Current system -- Townships , county-administered cities and districts
Main articles : Township ( Taiwan ) , County-administered city , and District ( Taiwan ) See also : List of townships/cities and districts in Taiwan The 22 main divisions in the country are further divided into 368 subdivisions . These 368 divisions can be categorized as the following .
Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is divided into multi-layered statutory subdivisions. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, there is a significant difference in the de jure system set out in the original constitution and the de facto system in use today. Constitutionally, the ROC is divided into provinces and special municipalities, with each province subdivided into cities and counties. The provinces have been streamlined and are no longer functional. With provinces non-functional in practice, Taiwan is divided into 22 subnational divisions each with a local government led by an elected head and a local council. Matters for which local governments are responsible or partially responsible include social services, education, urban planning, public construction, water management, environmental protection, transport and public safety. There are three types of subnational divisions: special municipalities, cities and counties. Special municipalities and cities are further divided into districts for local administration. Counties are further divided into townships and county-administered cities. These divisions have a degree of autonomy. They have government offices with elected leaders and local councils, which share responsibilities with the county. When the ROC retreated to Taiwan in 1949, its claimed territory consisted of 35 provinces, 12 special municipalities, 1 special administrative region and 2 autonomous regions.