Taiwan has officially become an “aged society,” as more than 14 percent of its population is older than 65, while estimates show that the nation could become a “hyper-aged society” within eight years, the Ministry of the Interior said.
Chiayi, Yunlin and Nantou counties are the three “oldest” counties and cities, while Lienchiang County, Hsinchu City and Taoyuan are the three “youngest” counties and cities, the ministry said.
From 1993 to March this year — within a span of 25 years — Taiwan changed from an aging society into an aged society, it said, adding that within that time frame, the number of elderly people — those aged 65 or older — grew from 1.49 million people, or 7.10 percent of the nation’s population, to 3.31 million people, or 14.05 percent.
The National Development Council estimates that within eight years, the elderly population will exceed 20 percent of the total population, the ministry said, adding that Taiwan would join the ranks of other hyper-aged societies such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and certain European countries.
Chiayi County has the highest percentage of elderly people nationwide at 18.61 percent, the ministry said, adding that within the county, Yijhu Township (義竹) has the most elderly people at 24.73 percent, followed by Lioujiao Township (六腳) at 25.48 percent and Lucao (鹿草) at 24.99 percent.
Yunlin County is No. 2 at 17.69 percent, with Shueilin Township (水林) having the most elderly people countywide at 24.38 percent, followed by Yuanchang Township (元長) at 23.66 percent and Dongshih Township (東勢) at 21.98 percent, the ministry said.
Nantou County is No. 3 at 16.70 percent, with Jhongliao Township (中寮) having the most elderly people countywide at 22.03 percent, followed by Lugu Township (鹿谷) at 21.60 percent and Jiji Township (集集) at 21.06 percent, it said.
By contrast, the elderly populations of Lienchiang County, Taoyuan and Hsinchu City comprised only 10.73 percent, 10.96 percent and 11.64 percent respectively, it said.
Dongyin Township (東引) is the “youngest” township in Lienchiang County at 7.73 percent, followed by Lujhu District (蘆竹) in Taoyuan at 8.94 percent and Siangshan District (香山) in Hsinchu City at 10.86 percent, the ministry said.
New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪), Kaohsiung’s Tianliao District (田寮), Tainan’s Zuojhen District (左鎮), Miaoli County’s Shihtan Township (獅潭) and Tainan’s Longci District (龍崎) were the five cities and townships with the highest elderly populations, it said, adding that elderly people make up 28.57 percent of the population in Pingsi, 27.84 percent in Tianliao, 27.37 percent in Zuojhen, 26.47 percent in Shihtan and 25.97 percent in Longci.
The national gender ratio (the number of men for every 100 women) dropped below 100 as of November 2013, while the gender ratio for the elderly population had dropped below 100 in September 2005, the ministry said.
As of last month, there were only 85 elderly men in the population for every 100 elderly women, the ministry said, attributing the figure to a lower life expectancy for men.
Lienchiang County, which administers Matsu, is the only county with more elderly men than women, the ministry said, adding that Chiayi, Hsinchu and Taipei were the three cities nationwide with the widest gender imbalances, at 79.48 percent, 80.31 percent and 81.12 percent respectively.
In terms of dependency, as of February last year, there were 36.32 dependents per 100 workers, while elderly dependency (18.18 dependents) exceeded youth dependency (18.14 dependents), it said.
Taipei has the highest ratio of elderly dependency with 43.52 elderly dependents per 100 workers, followed by Yunlin County at No. 2 with 41.67 and Hsinchu City at No. 3 with 40.74, it said.
Individuals of working age are defined as those aged 15 to 64, dependents are infants to those aged 14 and elderly individuals are those aged 65 and older, the ministry said.
Only Taoyuan, Taichung, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu and Lienchiang counties have a higher ratio of youth dependency, while all other cities and townships show a higher rate of elderly dependency, it added.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS