With a total population of some 250 million, the Austronesians are dispersed across a huge area of the Pacific and Indian Oceans; from as far west as Madagascar on the East coast of Africa, to Easter Island almost at the shores of the American continent; from New Zealand in the south, to Taiwan as the most northern habitation.
台灣原住民所屬的「南島語族」分佈區域極廣，總人口高達二億五千萬人，其中包括了太平洋、印度洋地區，西起非洲東岸馬達加斯加島，東至太平洋東岸美洲的復活島，南達紐西蘭，台灣位在最北的位置。