Administrative divisions of Taiwan in the context of "Taiwan Area"

Fu (Chinese: 府; pinyin: fǔ) is a traditional administrative division of Chinese origin used in the East Asian cultural sphere, translated variously as commandery, prefecture, urban prefecture, or city. They were first instituted as a regular form of administrative division of China's Tang Empire, but were later adopted in Vietnam, Japan and Korea. At present, only two fu still remain: the prefectures of Kyoto and Osaka in Japan.

The term fu is currently also used in Chinese to translate the provinces of Thailand, but not those of mainland China, Taiwan or other countries.

The Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area (Chinese: 臺北基隆都會區; pinyin: Táiběi-Jīlóng Dūhùiqū) also commonly known as Greater Taipei Area (Chinese: 大臺北地區; pinyin: Dà Táiběi Dìqū) is the largest metropolitan area in Taiwan. It is composed of 3 administrative divisions: Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung. The region encompasses an area of 2,457.13 square kilometers (948.70 sq mi) and a population of 7,034,084 as of 2019. It is the most populous and the most densely populated metropolitan area in Taiwan, with one-third of Taiwanese people living and working there. In some sources, Taoyuan City is included in the metropolitan area on a broader extent, but is usually considered as a metropolitan area of its own.

The region is the epicenter of Taiwanese culture, economy, education and government. Designated as a global city, the region exerts a significant impact on commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, both locally and internationally. As a diplomatic center, it is the home to all consulates and embassies in Taiwan. Its economic power makes the region the country's premier commercial and financial center as well as in the region of East Asia. Considered to be a global city and rated as an Alpha - City by GaWC, Taipei is part of a major high-tech industrial area. Railways, highways, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The metropolitan area is served by two airports – Songshan and Taoyuan.

New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, behind Kaohsiung. The top-level administrative divisions bordering New Taipei City are Keelung to the northeast, Yilan County to the southeast, and Taoyuan to the southwest, and it completely encloses the capital city of Taipei. Banqiao District is its municipal seat and biggest commercial area.

Before the establishment of Spanish and Dutch outposts in Tamsui in 1626, the area of present-day New Taipei City was mostly inhabited by Taiwanese indigenous peoples, mainly the Ketagalan people. From the late Qing era, the port of Tamsui was opened up to foreign traders as one of the treaty ports after the Qing dynasty of China signed the Treaty of Tientsin in June 1858. By the 1890s, the port of Tamsui accounted for 63 percent of the overall trade for entire Taiwan, port towns in the middle course of Tamsui River had also developed into bustling business and transportation centers. During the Japanese rule of Taiwan, the entire area of New Taipei City was organized as part of the Taihoku Prefecture. After the Republic of China took control of Taiwan in 1945, the present-day New Taipei City was designated on 7 January 1946 as Taipei County in Taiwan Province, which was constituted from the former Taihoku Prefecture, but not including present-day divisions of Taipei City, Keelung and Yilan County, the latter of which became detached from Taipei County on 10 October 1950. Its county status remained until 25 December 2010 when it was promoted to special municipal status and renamed as "New Taipei City".

Fuchien (Mandarin pronunciation: [fǔ.tɕjɛ̂n] ), formerly romanized as Fukien, is a de jure administrative division of Taiwan (ROC), whose constitution retains provinces as a titular division with no practical administrative function.

It includes three small archipelagos off the coast of Fujian Province of the People's Republic of China, namely the Matsu Islands, which make up Lienchiang County, and the Wuqiu Islands and Kinmen Islands, which make up Kinmen County. Its administrative center is the Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center in Jincheng, Kinmen, serving as its de facto capital. The province is also known as the Golden Horse (Chinese: 金馬; pinyin: jīnmǎ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kim-bé), after the literal reading of the Chinese character abbreviation for "Kinmen-Matsu".

Taiwan Province (Chinese: 臺灣省; pinyin: Táiwān Shěng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: Thòi-vàn-sén or Thòi-vân-sén) is a de jure administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as a part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but are no longer considered to have any administrative function practically.

Taiwan Province covers approximately 69% of the island of Taiwan, and comprises around 31% of the total population. The province initially covered the entire island of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu (the Pescadores), Orchid Island, Green Island, Xiaoliuqiu Island, and their surrounding islands. Between 1967 and 2014, six special municipalities (Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei and Taoyuan) were split off from the province, all in the most populous regions.

Special municipality, historically known as Yuan-controlled municipality, is a first-level administrative division unit in Taiwan. It is the highest level of the country's administrative structure and is equivalent to a province. After the suspension of the provincial governments of 2018, the special municipalities along with provincial cities and counties have all governed directly under the central government.

Currently total six cities are designated as special municipalities: Taipei, Taoyuan, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung, all located in the most densely populated regions in the western half of the island. These special municipalities encompass five most populous metropolitan areas in Taiwan, accounting for more than two-thirds of the national population.

An autonomous municipality, county-level city or city, previously provincial city, is a de jure second-level administrative division unit in the Republic of China (Taiwan).

The provincial cities were formerly under the jurisdiction of provinces, but the provinces were streamlined and effectively downsized to non-self-governing bodies in 1998, in 2018 all provincial governmental organs were formally abolished. Provincial cities along counties, are presently regarded as de facto principal subdivisions directed by the central government of the ROC.

A county, constitutionally known as a hsien, is a de jure second-level administrative division unit in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the administrative structure of Taiwan, it is at the same level as a provincial city.

The counties were formerly under the jurisdiction of provinces, but the provinces were streamlined and effectively downsized to non-self-governing bodies in 1998. In 2018 all provincial governmental organs were formally abolished. Counties along with former "provincial cities" which alternately designated as simply "Cities", are presently regarded as principal subdivisions directed by the central government of Taiwan.