which countries recognise taiwan
Only a very small number of countries officially recognize Taiwan (the Republic of China) as a sovereign state, and that list has changed several times over the last few years due to countries switching recognition to the People’s Republic of China. As of late 2025, Taiwan has formal diplomatic relations with just over a dozen mostly small states, while most major powers maintain informal ties, trade offices, or “de facto embassies” without official recognition because of pressure from Beijing and the “One China” policy.
Who officially recognizes Taiwan?
Most governments do not have full diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but a small group still does, mainly in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and one in Europe (the Holy See). The exact list can shift when a country breaks ties with Taipei and establishes relations with Beijing, so any list should always be checked against the latest statement from Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In recent years, sources listing countries with official ties to Taiwan typically include combinations of:
- Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean
- Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu in the Pacific
- The Holy See (Vatican City) as Taiwan’s only European diplomatic partner
Different databases sometimes count slightly different totals because they are updated at different moments, especially when a country has just switched recognition, so you will see figures like “12 countries” or “13 countries” recognizing Taiwan around 2023–2025.
Why do so few countries recognize Taiwan?
The core reason is the diplomatic and economic weight of the People’s Republic of China and its insistence that other states accept the “One China” principle as a condition for full relations with Beijing. Countries that maintain ties with Taiwan usually receive substantial development aid, medical cooperation, agricultural projects, and scholarships from Taipei, but they face strong pressure and sometimes incentives from Beijing to switch recognition.
For most major economies, the compromise has been:
- No formal recognition of Taiwan as a state
- Extensive unofficial relations through trade offices, cultural institutes, and parliamentary visits
- Careful wording in official statements, referring to “Taipei” or “the Taiwan authorities” while still expanding practical cooperation in areas like semiconductors, trade, and security dialogue.
How is this showing up in news and forums?
The question “which countries recognise Taiwan” comes up regularly on news sites, blogs, and forums whenever a country switches diplomatic recognition or when tensions rise in the Taiwan Strait. Maps and infographics highlighting the small number of Taiwan’s “diplomatic allies” often go viral because they visually underline how isolated Taiwan is in formal diplomatic terms, despite having robust economic and informal ties with many countries.
From a political discussion angle, people often debate:
- Whether countries should prioritize democratic solidarity with Taiwan versus economic ties to China
- How much practical difference formal recognition makes when many states already treat Taiwan as a separate economic and political entity in everything but name
- Whether growing concern over security in East Asia and supply-chain dependence (especially chips) will ever push more countries to upgrade their relationship with Taipei, even if they stop short of full recognition.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.