Almost all the people of Taiwan live on the coastal plain that makes up the western third of the island. About 2 percent of the population are non-Chinese native peoples related to Indonesians and Filipinos. Most of the native peoples, sometimes called aborigines, live on reservations in the mountains. About a fifth of the people of Taiwan farm the land. Power tillers are gradually replacing water buffaloes in the fields.
Many farmers can afford bicycles, motorcycles, refrigerators, radios, and television sets.
Most of the farmhouses are made of brick, with tile roofs and central courtyards of packed earth or cement. A typical Taiwanese meal includes rice, served with vegetables and chopped meat or fish. Farmers and others who work in the hot sun wear cone-shaped straw hats. Most city people wear Western-style clothing. The Taiwanese people speak various Chinese dialects.