Taiwan has a total land area of approximately 36,190 to 36,197 square kilometers (about 13,974 to 13,976 square miles). The island itself is roughly 394 to 395 kilometers (245 miles) long from north to south and about 144 to 145 kilometers (89 to 90 miles) wide at its widest point. Taiwan is slightly larger than the U.S. state of Maryland and Belgium but smaller than countries like Switzerland and Ireland. Its landscape is mountainous in the eastern two- thirds and plains in the western third, where most of its population lives.
