Keelung last year became the nation’s “loneliest” city, with one-person households making up more than 41 percent of its households, the latest data from the Ministry of the Interior showed.
As of the end of last year, there were more than 3.57 million one-person households nationwide, accounting for 37.67 percent of the total households, the data showed.
The nation’s population spiked to a record 23.6 million in 2019 before consecutively declining year by year to 23.4 million last year.
Photo: Taipei Times
However, similar to Japan, the number of households climbed to about 9.49 million from about 8.83 million over the same period, despite the population shrinking, mainly because nuclear families were decreasing.
The number of one-person or two-people households has been rising over the past decade, meaning that households of people living alone or childless couples were increasing.
The number of one-person or two-people households increased to more than 5.59 million last year, or 59 percent of households, while households of four people or more declined over the same period, the data showed.
The number of households of five people or more — which were mostly three-generation families — dropped to about 985,000 last year, or 10.3 percent, dipping to fewer than 1 million for the first time.
Keelung was the “loneliest” among all administrative regions with its one-person households reaching 41.61 percent, while its households of six people or more accounted for 2.42 percent, the lowest in Taiwan.
It was followed by Taitung County and Taipei respectively, of which one-person households surpassed 40 percent each, the data showed.
The least lonely administrative region was Changhua County, of which one-person households made up 30.61 percent, while households of six people or more reached 9.66 percent, third behind Kinmen and Matsu (Lienchiang) counties.
As of June last year, the number of households of people aged 65 or older living alone was more than 1.03 million, up by about 300,000 people from 727,000 in August 2018.
Meanwhile, among the 19 administrative areas in Taiwan proper, only Taoyuan and Hsinchu County had positive natural population growth.
Yunlin County had the highest birthrate and death rate.
Of the six major cities, Taoyuan residents were the most willing to have children, while New Taipei City residents were the least willing.
The Taipei City Government was the most generous nationwide in terms of birth subsidies with NT$40,000 for the first child, NT$45,000 for the second and NT$50,000 for more.
Thanks to the boosted birth subsidies, the natural population decline in Taipei was 2,612 people last year, down from 4,330 people in 2023 and 6,255 people in 2022, the data showed.
The Yunlin County Government’s birth subsidy of NT$30,000 for each of the first three newborns remained unchanged, while the subsidy for the fourth newborn or more was raised to NT$100,000. The county had the highest birthrate last year.
New Taipei City, which had the lowest birthrate among the six major cities over the past few years, earlier this year increased its subsidies to NT$30,000 for the first newborn, NT$40,000 for the second and NT$50,000 for more.
Although Taipei provides the highest birth subsidies and has diminishing natural population decline, last year its social population decline gained speed, meaning that soaring house prices kept driving people away from the city.
National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday said it disqualified a person from an entrance examination for using AI smart glasses to cheat, along with two others for making untruthful statements in their curriculum vitae. The three applicants were given null scores, Taiwan’s highest-ranked university said, calling on prospective students to be honest in the admissions process. NTU registrar Lee Hung-sen (李宏森) said that the cheating applicant wore a hat and thick-rimmed glasses to the second written exam for medical school, claiming that they felt cold. Suspicions were aroused when the applicant stared oddly at the test for long stretches while steadily bringing the paper
MILITARY ISSUES: A partisan divide between the Cabinet and the legislature ‘raised questions about Taiwan’s ability to adequately fund its defense,’ the report said Taiwan’s defense budget, military personnel numbers and resilience are challenges to its ability to meet national defense goals, the US Naval Institute said in a report published on Tuesday. In response to the perception of a growing military threat posed by China, Taiwan has embarked on an effort to enhance the capabilities needed to deter an attempt by Beijing to annex the nation by force, the institute said in the US Congressional Research Service report, titled Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues, which was filed on Thursday last week. Taiwan’s defense budget increased by about 7.5 percent from 2024 to last year, it
66 FIGHTER JETS: The aircraft is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan — a significant step forward in the nation’s modernization program, a lawmaker said The first of Taiwan’s order of F-16V Block 70 aircraft has been sighted in Texas ahead of delivery, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. Taiwan’s first F-16V Block 70 two-seat aircraft, tail number 6831, was seen flying from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Greenville, South Carolina, to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas, Wang wrote on Facebook yesterday. The plane is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan, marking a significant step forward in the Republic of China Air Force’s modernization program, Wang said, citing military analysts. The F-16V Block 70 is a new-build version
NOT JUST NUMBERS: What matters to intelligence work is crucial, reliable information, so even a few credible leads can be highly valuable to national security, a legislator said The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said it has finished the establishment of an information-reporting channel for Chinese nationals, the aim of which is to broaden intelligence gathering on China’s political, military, economic and social developments. Chinese nationals can submit information on the Web page, https://report.nsb.gov.tw, the NSB said in a statement. The move aims to expand the bureau’s diverse intelligence sources and is pursuant to the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), it said, adding that it referenced practices adopted by intelligence agencies in the US, the UK and Israel. An increasing number of people are approaching Taiwanese agencies to provide information, as
RSS