The latest figures show that the Amis people are still Taiwan's biggest tribe of indigenous people. The Ministry of Interior released statistics on Saturday showing that the Amis, who are largely from the east coast, account for 37.1% of the indigenous people in Taiwan. They were followed by the Paiwan with 17.8% and the Atayal with 15.9%.
Taiwan’s government officially recognizes 16 tribes of indigenous people, who are distinctly different from the nation’s majority population, which is ethnic Chinese. The indigenous peoples have more in common both ethnically and linguistically with other Austronesian cultures, like the native Hawaiians, New Zealand Maoris, and other islanders stretching from Indonesia to Madagascar.
The total number of indigenous residents in Taiwan last year totaled 540,023 people; that was up 1.2 percent from the previous year. The average age of indigenous people -- 33.7 years – was also considerably younger than the average age of 39.8 years old for the overall population of Taiwan.
As for the county with the highest percentage of indigenous people, the southeastern county of Taitung topped out at 35.5%. It was followed by Hualien County (27.5%) and Pingtung County (6.9%).