The population of Taipei last year fell to the lowest in 23 years due to high rent, more transportation options and the expansion of northern cities into a single metropolis, academics and city officials said on Monday.
Data released this month by the Ministry of the Interior showed that the capital was home to 2,602,418 people last year, down 42,623 from 2019.
The decline is second only to 1993, when the population fell by 42,828 people, while Taipei’s population was the lowest it has been since 1997.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Taipei saw the biggest drop among the six special municipalities, while Taoyuan led the group in population increase, adding 19,770 people.
The figures are not unusual, as Taiwan’s population is declining, said Chen Liang-chuan (陳亮全), a former professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Disaster Management at Ming Chuan University in Taipei.
As rent and early education costs in Taipei are the nation’s highest, “it is difficult for young people to start families here,” he said.
Taipei Department of Civil Affairs statistics show that the difference between the number of births in 2019 and last year was less than 2,500, but more than 34,000 people moved away, which shows that the population decline was due to societal, not natural factors.
Wu Chung-hsing (吳重信), head of population policy at the civil affairs department, said that the exodus is to be expected.
Given the population density in Taipei, public transportation expansion and flexible real-estate options, it is natural that people would move to New Taipei City, Taoyuan or other places where housing is cheaper, Wu said.
In a 2019 survey, the civil affairs department found that most former Taipei residents moved to New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) or Sanchong (三重) districts, he said.
Rezoned areas near Banciao, Jiangzicui, Xinzhuang Fuduxin and other stations on the MRT lines linking Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan are also popular, he said.
However, the population movement would gradually stabilize as the nation’s northern cities combine into a single metropolis, Wu said.
What was previously the “Taipei-Keelung” area has already expanded to include New Taipei City, he said, adding that Taoyuan would likely be absorbed next.
Chung Hua University professor Tu Tze-chen (杜紫宸) said that population shift away from Taipei was likely due to housing and transportation costs.
In New Taipei City’s Tucheng (土城) and Sindian (新店) districts alone, homes are NT$150,000 to NT$200,000 cheaper per ping (3.31m2) than in Taipei, Tu said.
New Taipei City and Taoyuan are the most attractive options for Taipei residents seeking to move, as land is limited in Keelung, while Yilan County is not favored, as traffic on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) is often congested, he said.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS