The population is aging quickly, with the number of people over 65 reaching one in 10 at the end of last year, Ministry of the Interior (MOI) statistics showed.
The population above 65 years old reached 2.45 million at the end of the year, accounting for 10.6 percent of the country's 23.12 million people, the statistics showed.
The country's aging index has reached a new high, rising to 65.05 percent from 39.4 percent in 1999.
The index is an indicator that evaluates a nation or an area's degree of aging — the ratio of the percentage of population over 65 years old against the percentage of the population below 14 years of age.
Chiayi County had the highest aging index at 105.6 percent, followed by Penghu County with 102.3 percent and Yunlin County with 94.3 percent.
At the bottom were Taoyuan County with 43.1 percent, Taichung City with 44.2 percent and Hsinchu City with 47.6 percent.
Internationally, Taiwan's aging index was on par with the US' 65 percent, but was lower than Canada's 82.3 percent, the UK's 88.9 percent, France's 94.4 percent, Germany's 142.9 percent and Japan's 176.92 percent.
Taiwan's figure was also higher than in neighboring Asian countries: South Korea, 58.8 percent; Singapore, 50 percent; China, 42.1 percent; Malaysia, 12.5 percent; and the Philippines, 11.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of household registrations stood at 23.12 million at the end of last year, up slightly from the previous year.
The ministry attributed the increase to the naturalization of a large number of Chinese spouses who obtained citizenship after residing for eight years in Taiwan. The government also shortened the length of time Chinese spouses must wait to obtain national identification cards from eight years to six years in August.
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