The nation’s population could be entering negative growth, the Ministry of the Interior has said, citing the 26,046 people born and 30,884 who died in the first two months of this year.
Last month, there were 13,536 births, or about one birth every 3.1 minutes, and 16,211 deaths, or one death every 2.6 minutes, statistics released on Tuesday showed.
The nation as of last month had 23.6 million people — up 10,899 people from a year earlier, but down 3,362 from January, the statistics showed.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
The nation has 11.7 million men — down 9,630 from a year earlier and down 2,986 from January — and 11.8 million women — up 20,529 from a year earlier, but down 376 from January, the data showed.
Overall, the nation has 98.33 men for every 100 women, the data showed.
Lienchiang County was the region with the highest ratio of men to women, with 134.20 men for every 100 women, followed by Chiayi County with 107.96 men for every 100 women and Yunlin County with 107.36 men for every 100 women.
The places with the lowest ratios of men to women were Taipei (90.92 men per 100 women), Chiayi City (94.01 men per 100 women) and New Taipei City (95.51 men per 100 women).
Hsinchu County had the greatest increase in population over the past year with a 1.29 percent growth rate, followed by Taoyuan with a 1.22 percent growth rate and Hsinchu City with a 0.68 percent growth rate, the statistics showed.
Taipei’s population fell 0.97 percent, while Taitung County’s declined 0.94 percent and Chiayi County’s dropped by 0.75 percent.
The statistics showed that 8.84 million households were registered, up 94,502 households from a year earlier and up 5,901 families from January.
New Taipei City was the region with the highest number of households registered at 1.58 million, or 17.94 percent of all households nationwide, followed by Kaohsiung with 1.11 million households (12.56 percent) and Taipei with 1.05 million (11.99 percent).
“It is premature to say that the nation is entering negative growth,” Department of Household Registration Affairs Director Wanda Chang (張琬宜) said. “The ministry would need more long-term data to back up such an assertion.”
For example, ministry statistics showed that the mortality rate and birthrate intersected from February to June last year before the birthrate once again overtook the mortality rate, and continued to do so into January.
The National Development Council previously predicted that the nation’s population would start to experience negative growth in the second half of this year.
The council also estimated that half of the nation’s population would be aged 50 or older by 2033, while 30 percent of the population would be 65 or older by 2039.
Additional reporting by CNA
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS