Taiwan’s population last year dropped amid a record low 134,856 births, despite it being the Year of the Dragon, data from the Ministry of the Interior’s Department of Household Registration showed yesterday.
Dragons symbolize emperors in most of the Mandarin-speaking world and babies born in the Year of the Dragon are traditionally believed to have a promising future.
However, the population declined to about 23.4 million last year, down 20,222 from the previous year, the data showed, meaning that on average there were 55.25 fewer people each day.
Photo courtesy of Lee Women’s Hospital
The first record of population decline in Taiwan was in 2020. The population increased in 2023.
The number of births has decreased each year over the past decade from 213,598 newborns in 2015, 208,440 in 2016, 193,844 in 2017, 181,601 in 2018, 177,767 in 2019, 165,249 in 2020, 153,820 in 2021, 138,986 in 2022 to 135,571 in 2023, ministry data showed.
Last year’s record low meant that the crude birth rate was 5.76 per 1,000 people.
There were 715 fewer births last year than in 2023, which had a crude birth rate of 5.81 per 1,000 people, the data showed.
Deaths last year totaled 202,107, or a crude death rate of 8.80 per 1,000 people, down 3,261 from 205,368 a year earlier, or a crude death rate of 7.90 per 1,000 people.
The natural shift in the population — births minus deaths — was minus-67,251 last year.
The social increase of the population, or the number of people who moved to Taiwan minus the number of people who moved away, was 47,029 last year, the data showed.
The natural and social changes combined showed a population loss of 20,222.
Last month, 86,520 people moved to Taiwan, up 3,635 from November, while 84,146 people moved away, an increase of 4,327 from November, the data showed.
Net migration last month was 2,374, with Taichung’s 1,989 the most among Taiwan’s regions, followed by 1,645 for Taoyuan and 927 for New Taipei City, they showed.
Meanwhile, the number of new marriages decreased.
The number of marriages last year was 123,061, or 5.26 per 1,000 people, down 2,131 from 125,192 in 2023, while the number of divorces was 53,469, or a crude divorce rate of 2.28 per 1,000 people, the data showed.
Chang Jung-fu (張榮富), a professor in the Department of Social and Regional Development at the National Taipei University of Education, said the data indicate that Taiwanese, especially women, focus more on their careers than childbirth and have lost interest in having “dragon babies.”
Additional reporting by CNA
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