Taiwan is an unknown entity to a lot of people outside of Asia. History buffs might know that KMT forces escaped to the island after being defeated by the Communists in 1949. Economists might know it as a former source of cheap plastic toys and a current source of computer hardware — as well as being one of the four original Asian tigers, along with Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. But Taiwan becomes a more multi-dimensional place if you live here. These are my 10 favorite Taiwan facts:

10 Taiwan is the second most densely populated country in the world if one excludes city states (after Bangladesh).

9 Taiwan’s highest mountain peak is higher than Austria’s or New Zealand’s highest.

8 Taiwan has the world’s highest per capita ownership of motor scooters.

7 There are more 7-Elevens per person in Taiwan than anywhere else.

6 There are more 7-Elevens in Taiwan than anywhere else.

5 Taiwan is a multilingual country in both senses of the word: 12 different mother tongues are spoken by the native population and almost everyone speaks two or three languages (mostly Mandarin, Hokkien, and sometimes English).

4 The favorite legal drug among farmers, truck drivers and construction workers is betel nuts, which are wrapped in leaves and chewed. Red teeth and red stains on roads are therefore common in rural areas.

3 Taiwan may have a high-speed rail line and two subway systems, but in most cities sidewalks are either useless or non-existent. Scooters park anywhere, which in effect means that pedestrians have to walk in the middle of streets (Taipei City is an exception).

2 Most Taiwanese like to boast about how much they have paid for cars, paintings, wine etc. (apparently it’s attractive to pay as much as possible!).

1 Taiwanese couples with children prefer to live in cities. I’ve heard people say that they prefer to live in downtown areas even if they work in a suburb or in the countryside because it’s better for the kids!