The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed.
The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said.
That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added.
Photo: CNA
Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed.
More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net migration loss at 947, bringing the total population decline to 9,468, the data showed.
After declining for the 16th consecutive month, population stood at 23,365,274 as of the end of last month — down 49,826 from the same time last year, which is equivalent to an average daily decrease of 136 people.
Compared with April last year, Taoyuan reported the highest annual population growth rate at 1.02 percent, followed by Hsinchu County at 0.98 percent and Taichung at 0.55 percent, data showed.
The sharpest declines were recorded in the outlying counties of Lienchiang (Matsu, minus-2.05 percent) and Kinmen (minus-1.96 percent), as well as in Taipei (minus-1.74 percent), the data showed.
In terms of marriages, 6,520 couples tied the knot last month — including 167 same-sex marriages — while 4,334 couples divorced, of which 81 were the same sex, data showed.
The statistics are based on the household registration system and only include Taiwanese nationals with household registration, the ministry said.
People without household registration or foreign residents living in Taiwan are not counted in the official population figures, it added.
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
RSS