The nation recorded an eight-year low of 181,601 births last year, while the number of marriages also dropped, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday.
The population was 23,588,932 at the end of last year, with 11,876,000 females and 11,712,000 males, the data showed.
The birthrate has declined to 7.56 per 1,000 people, the data showed.
Photo: Chang Hsun-teng, Taipei Times
In the period after World War II, 300,000 to 400,000 babies were born annually, but the number was less than 200,000 in 2008 amid the global financial crisis and dropped to 166,886 in 2010, the data showed.
Since then, the number of births has hovered near 200,000, but it dropped to 193,844 in 2017 and 181,601 last year, the data showed.
The lowest birthrate last year was in Pingtung County, with 5.05 per 1,000 people, followed by 5.18 in Chiayi County and 5.47 in Keelung, the ministry said.
Lienchiang County had the highest birthrate at 18.95, followed by 10.22 in Taoyuan and 9.17 in both Changhua County and Hsinchu City.
Last year saw 135,404 marriages, down 2,630 from 2017, a nine-year low, the ministry said.
At the end of 2017, nearly 4.42 million of people aged 20 to 40 were unmarried, among whom 270,000 were married last year, meaning that more than 4 million remain single, the ministry said.
There is a correlation between marriages and births, the ministry said, adding that the decline in both might be because of increasing education levels, difficulty finding a suitable partner, lower salaries, increased housing prices or other societal problems.
The Executive Yuan in the middle of last year announced subsidies for public childcare centers and births, the effects of which might take a few years to manifest, Department of Household Registration Director Wanda Chang (張琬宜) said.
To alleviate the burden on young people with children, the ministry is also building social housing units and gives newlyweds priority for subsidies, Chang said.
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