People in Taiwan can expect to live longer than ever before, according to a Ministry of the Interior report released yesterday.
Taiwan has been ranked in terms of longevity as 34th among 201 countries around the world, with an average life expectancy of 74.83 years.
The latest statistics, which were based on data from 1998, showed an increase in life expectancy of three months over that of 1997, the report showed.
Vice Minister of the Interior Lin Join-sane (
"This indicates that the living conditions in Taiwan are comparable with that of developed countries," Lin said yesterday.
Life expectancy in Taiwan has been rising over the past 10 years, thanks to improvements in medical science, environmental conditions, health care, social welfare and leisure facilities, he said.
"With Taiwan's economic development, striving for the basic necessities of life is no longer a problem. People are more concerned about their health and their quality of living," Lin said.
The report also showed that people tend to live longer in urbanized areas. While life expectancy registered an average of 78.43 years in Taipei, the number is 74.67 years in Kaohsiung. In provincial areas, the mean average is 74.45 years.
But other regional differences exist. Northern Taiwan has the longest expectancy at 76.02 years, compared with 74.52 years in central Taiwan, 73.84 years in southern Taiwan and 69.89 years in eastern Taiwan.
Women, meanwhile, are expected to live longer than men, a trend consistent with other populations. While the life expectancy of men is 72.2 years, that of women is 77.96 years.
Compared with other Asian countries, Taiwanese people are living longer than Koreans, Malaysians and Filipinos, but shorter than Japanese and Singaporeans. Japanese people, who live to see their 80th year on average, have the longest life expectancy in the world.
Lin, however, pointed to the continual "graying" of society here in Taiwan as a concern for the government, as an increase of the senior population puts strain on social services.
People over 65 years old total 1.86 million, constituting 8.44 percent of the population, Lin pointed out.
He said the government will further strengthen its welfare policies for senior citizens to cope with the situation as it continues to develop.
The ministry has recently launched a program to encourage family care for the elderly, Lin said, under which the government offers subsidies for people who need to put aside their jobs to take care of senior family members.
The ministry is also to increase the funding for senior citizens' nursing homes in order to tackle the issue, he said.
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