Measures to encourage Taiwanese to have more children have failed to reverse the declining birth rate in Taiwan, the latest Ministry of the Interior (MOI) statistics showed.
The number of newborns last year was 191,300 — a record low — and fell below 200,000 for the second consecutive year, after 198,733 children were born in 2008.
A report on world population trends published by the US-based Population Reference Bureau said that Taiwan had the lowest birth rate in the world, with one woman giving birth to one child on average.
The government has implemented a series of measures to enhance the wellbeing of children, including education coupons, medical subsidies, daycare subsidies and parental leave subsidies.
New parents are also entitled to two years of unpaid parental leave to raise their child.
Still, the birth rate has continued to decline.
Local governments have also offered incentives, with Hsinchu and Chiayi cities and Hsinchu, Changhua and Yunlin counties all granting cash subsidies to women who give birth.
Hsinchu City, for example, gives parents NT$15,000 for their first child, NT$20,000 for their second child and NT$25,000 for their third child.
Wang Yun-tung (王雲東), an assistant professor at National Taiwan University, said that raising children was a long-term process, while the government’s incentive programs were often short-term or lump-sum payments, which do not provide “enough encouragement.”
Wang said the government should start by improving the overall environment to deal with the issue.
Interior Minister Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said recently that the lack of interest in having children could be related to a weak economy, the deterioration of the natural environment and political uncertainty.
“If the basics are not improved, then all other measures will have a limited effect,” Jiang said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
RSS