Taiwan’s working-age population is expected to decline substantially in the coming years. Ministry of the Interior data showed an estimated 6.67 million people are projected to retire in two waves, with the first already under way starting in 2023, with 3.78 million people — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — expected to leave the workplace, followed by 2.89 million people in about 16 years. Compounding the issue is that fewer young Taiwanese are joining the labor force, while the participation of older people in the workforce is also relatively low, compared with some neighboring countries.
The numbers have experts and government officials worried, as Taiwan could face a shrinking workforce and an unbalanced social structure, among other challenges. Moreover, the issue poses an existential threat to businesses and the economy as a whole, as an aging population and an underutilized workforce raise concerns about the country’s manufacturing output and national security.
Several factors are behind the threat of Taiwan’s massive retirement waves. First, Taiwan continues to contend with a declining birthrate, with its overall population shrinking steadily, which alters the nature of the working-age population. Second, Taiwan generally lacks support for older people who choose to work, and the government has not adopted effective policies to encourage them to keep working. Third, the economic pressures and rising costs of living faced by younger Taiwanese have led some to keep studying rather enter the workforce immediately after graduating, not actively participate in the labor market or even give up looking for work altogether.
Furthermore, changes in social structure and urbanization have affected the support system of big families and accelerated the growth of nuclear families, resulting in a lack of care and support for elderly people, as well as a decrease in their willingness to keep working.
To address this anticipated and significant workforce shrinkage in the near term, the government must bolster career retraining initiatives for older Taiwanese to enhance their skills in line with social change and enable them to adapt to the demands of the labor market. The government should provide tax incentives and subsidies to encourage businesses to hire older Taiwanese and create a more welcoming work environment. Additionally, the government should consider adjusting retirement policies, such as raising the statutory retirement age, as a contingency measure to support the affordability of the economic security system. Regarding the low participation of younger people in the workforce, professional training and internship programs would help them integrate more quickly into the labor pool.
Simply encouraging elderly people to stay in the workplace does not necessarily improve their quality of life. Therefore, the government should pay more attention to wage protection issues, security programs and social inclusion concerns for older Taiwanese. At the same time, a clearer understanding is needed as to why some young people choose to not join the workforce. It is not simply an individual choice, but rather the result of the intertwined effects of social structures and the economic environment.
Clearly, the mass retirement of older Taiwanese, an increase in the elderly population and the decreasing number of newborns form the most significant demographic trends in Taiwan, but no quick solution exists. Expanding automation, recruiting foreign talent and accelerating overseas investments can provide partial relief for businesses, but the fundamental labor shortage problem at home remains. The government urgently needs to create innovative policies to ensure the nation can move forward steadily amid this demographic shift.
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
To counter the CCP’s escalating threats, Taiwan must build a national consensus and demonstrate the capability and the will to fight. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often leans on a seductive mantra to soften its threats, such as “Chinese do not kill Chinese.” The slogan is designed to frame territorial conquest (annexation) as a domestic family matter. A look at the historical ledger reveals a different truth. For the CCP, being labeled “family” has never been a guarantee of safety; it has been the primary prerequisite for state-sanctioned slaughter. From the forced starvation of 150,000 civilians at the Siege of Changchun
The two major opposition parties, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), jointly announced on Tuesday last week that former TPP lawmaker Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) would be their joint candidate for Chiayi mayor, following polling conducted earlier this month. It is the first case of blue-white (KMT-TPP) cooperation in selecting a joint candidate under an agreement signed by their chairpersons last month. KMT and TPP supporters have blamed their 2024 presidential election loss on failing to decide on a joint candidate, which ended in a dramatic breakdown with participants pointing fingers, calling polls unfair, sobbing and walking
RSS