Taoyuan registered the largest population growth last year among the nation’s six special municipalities, data released yesterday by the Ministry of the Interior showed.
Taoyuan’s population reached 2,268,807 people by the end of last year, up 0.875 percent from 2019, followed by 4,030,954 people in New Taipei City, up 0.305 percent from 2019, the data showed.
Observers attributed the higher growth in Taoyuan and New Taipei City to their proximity to Taipei.
Many people take advantage of relatively affordable housing in Taoyuan and New Taipei City, commuting to their workplace in Taipei, they added.
Taichung’s population reached 2,820,787 people, up 0.196 percent, the third-largest growth of the six, the data showed.
New Taipei City registered the largest population among the six, accounting for 17.11 percent of the nation’s population, followed by Taichung (2,820,787 people), Kaohsiung (2,765,932), Taipei (2,602,418), Taoyuan (2,268,807) and Tainan (1,874,917), the data showed.
Taipei’s population last year fell 1.625 percent from 2019.
The decline in Taipei largely resulted from a population outflow of 44,440 people during the year, the ministry said.
However, Taipei’s natural population growth — the difference between the number of births and deaths — totaled 1,817 people, the ministry added.
The special municipalities accounted for almost 70 percent of the total population in Taiwan at the end of last year, the data showed.
Outside the special municipalities, Lienchiang County’s population grew 1.441 percent annually, followed by Hsinchu County (1.206 percent) and Penghu County (0.706 percent), the ministry said.
At a total of 23,561,236 people, last year was the first time that Taiwan reported a decline in population, down 41,885 people from 2019, the ministry said.
The drop reflected a decline in the nation’s natural population growth, it said, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic lowered the number of those moving from overseas to Taiwan by 33,978 people.
Last year, Taiwan registered 165,249 births, down 12,518 from 2019, it said.
Taiwan’s population topped 20 million for the first time at the end of 1989, and hit a peak of 23.60 million people at the end of 2018, the data showed.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
RSS