Taiwan

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Taiwan}}
{{See also|History of the administrative divisions of China (1912–1949)}}
{|
|[[Image:ROC Administrative and Claims.svg|thumb|250px|alt=A map showing the island of Taiwan, China and Mongolia. Taiwan and other nearby small islands are highlighted in dark blue and are identified as the "[[Free Area of the Republic of China|Free Area]]" of the ROC. China is highlighted in light blue and is identified as an area claimed by the ROC and controlled by the PRC. Mongolia is highlighted in red. Other minor areas are highlighted in different colors for having historically been claimed by the ROC but are now controlled by other countries including Russia, Japan or Pakistan among others.|A map showing the official divisions and territories historically claimed by the Republic of China, along with their status as of 2005.]]
|[[File:ROC vs PRC.svg|thumb|270px|right|Political divisions as drawn by the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] and the [[China|People's Republic of China]].]]
|}
According to the 1947 constitution, the territory of the ROC is according to its "existing national boundaries".<ref name=constitution>[http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=A0000001 Article 4 of the constitution]</ref> The ROC is, ''de jure'' constitutionally, divided into {{Ill|#History|lt=provinces|zh|省 (中華民國)}}, [[special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipalities]] (which are further divided into districts for local administration), and the province-level [[Tibet Area (administrative division)|Tibet Area]]. Each province is subdivided into [[provincial city (Taiwan)|cities]] and [[county (Taiwan)|counties]], which are further divided into townships and county-administered cities, each having elected mayors and city councilors who share duties with the county. Some divisions are indigenous divisions which have different degrees of autonomy to standard ones. In addition, districts, cities and townships are further divided into villages and neighborhoods. The provinces have been "streamlined" and are no longer functional.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tpg.gov.tw/|title=Taiwan Provincial Government Official Website|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-date=29 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129130923/http://www.tpg.gov.tw/}}</ref> Similarly, [[Banners of Inner Mongolia|Mongol banners]] in mainland China ([[Inner Mongolia]]) also existed,<ref name="I Mongol"/> but they were abolished in 2006 and the ROC reaffirmed its recognition of Mongolia (formerly known as [[Outer Mongolia]] in Taiwan) in 2002, as stipulated in the 1946 constitution.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237|date=11 October 2002|access-date=5 February 2008|work=Taipei Times|title=Mongolian office to ride into Taipei by end of the year|archive-date=10 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210192036/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237 |title = Mongolian office to ride into Taipei by end of the year |work = [[Taipei Times]] |date = 11 October 2002 |access-date = 28 May 2009|quote=In October 1945, the people of Outer Mongolia voted for independence, gaining the recognition of many countries, including the Republic of China. (...) Due to a souring of relations with the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, however, the ROC revoked recognition of Outer Mongolia, reclaiming it as ROC territory. {...} Long a province of China, Mongolia declared its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. After the Ministry of the Interior's recent decision to exclude Mongolia from the official ROC map, on 3 Oct, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Taiwan recognizes Mongolia as an independent country – 81 years after Mongolia declared its independence.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210192036/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237|archive-date=10 February 2009}}</ref><ref name="Mongolia">{{cite news |title=有關外蒙古是否為中華民國領土問題說明新聞參考資料 |trans-title=Reference materials about the territory of the Republic of China excluding Outer Mongolia |url=http://www.mac.gov.tw/public/Attachment/252122204856.pdf |access-date=22 May 2012 |agency=[[Mainland Affairs Council]] |language=zh-tw}}</ref>

With provinces non-functional, Taiwan is in practice divided into 22 subnational divisions, each with a self-governing body led by an elected leader and a legislative body with elected members. Duties of local governments include social services, education, urban planning, public construction, water management, environmental protection, transport, public safety, and more.

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. However, since its retreat, the ROC has controlled only [[Taiwan Province]] and some islands of [[Fujian Province, Republic of China|Fujian Province]]. The ROC also controls the [[Pratas Islands]] and [[Taiping Island]] in the [[Spratly Islands]], which are part of the disputed [[South China Sea Islands]]. They were placed under [[Kaohsiung]] administration after the retreat to Taiwan.<ref>{{Cite news|title=World: Asia-Pacific Analysis: Flashpoint Spratly |date=14 February 1999 |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/279170.stm}}</ref>

{{Administrative divisions of Taiwan|map=show}}