The Ministry of the Interior recorded 9,601 births in January, the first time the nation has produced fewer than 10,000 newborns in a single month, while different indicators showed that Taiwan might also be facing a population with increasingly fewer births, women and marriages.
It comes after the ministry reported a record low 165,249 births last year, which was lower than the 173,156 deaths recorded last year.
The nation experienced negative population growth for the first time last year, ministry data found.
Photo: Copied by Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
The number of births in January also dropped from a year earlier, when there were 12,510 births.
In February, there were 11,497 newborns, ministry data showed.
Statistics continue to show an imbalance in the gender ratio among newborns, with more boys than girls being born.
The ratio was 110.08 males for every 100 females in 2003 and 110.57:100 in 2004, ministry data showed.
Although that number has gradually fallen since then, it has continued to fluctuate, the data showed.
The ratio was 109.46:100 in 2010 and 108.27:100 in 2015 and has remained at about 107:100 over the past five years, with last year’s figure being 107.74:100.
The marriage rate has continued to decline, with the number of marriages registered falling to an 11-year low of 121,702 last year.
Alice Cheng (鄭雁馨), an associate research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Sociology, yesterday said that in Taiwan, the ratio of male births to female births remains high — greater than in Japan and South Korea — and the nation’s female population is shrinking.
The “natural” sex ratio at birth should be about 104 to 106 males born for every 100 females, she said, adding that any number that is higher than that is considered a gender imbalance.
People’s preference for boys over girls resulting in sex selection or the killing of female embryos might be the cause of overly high male to female ratios at birth, she said.
Among Asian countries, the male-to-female ratio at birth began to climb in the mid-1980s, she said, adding that it reached almost 120:100 in China when the disparity was at its highest.
Cheng said that Japan’s ratio might be relatively balanced due to a realization following the Meiji Restoration that girls are a foundation of the nation’s power and should receive an education.
In South Korea, with government intervention, the ratio has returned to “normal” levels in the past few years, she added.
Commenting on the number of births in January, Cheng said that the COVID-19 pandemic might have led to delays in wedding ceremonies, resulting in fewer married couples and newborns.
Whether the pandemic was the main cause of the decline in births in January could be judged by whether the number of births subsequently rises or falls, Cheng said.
EIGHT KILLED: Three of the four juvenile victims were children of the man suspected of setting the fire at the tire repair shop after a family dispute Four of the eight people killed in a fire in Hsinchu City on Wednesday night were children and the other four were adults who died while trying to rescue the children from the second floor of the burning building, the city’s Fire Bureau said yesterday. Fire Bureau First Corps commander Chang Chih-chih (張智智) told a news conference that the fire at Zheng Yi Tire Repair Shop on Dongda Road might have been intentionally set by the owner’s son, Chen Yen-hsiang (陳彥翔), who earlier had an argument with other family members. Chen allegedly bought gasoline and lit a fire near four motorcycles inside
FIFA World Cup host Qatar has corrected an online application form that listed Taiwan as part of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Following the ministry’s protest on Wednesday, “Taiwan” replaced “Taiwan, Province of China” on a dropdown menu on the Web site to apply for a Hayya Card, an identification card all World Cup spectators are required to obtain, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. “We express our appreciation to the event organizers for their swift response in making the correction and safeguarding the rights of our nation’s fans,” she added. The card also serves as an entry visa for
FIVE QUESTIONED: Customers reported faulty kits after Safeway OA Supply Co allegedly imported poor-quality versions from China and sold them as US-made products The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday banned the sale and importation of Flowflex COVID-19 rapid test kits, after 2.37 million flawed kits, allegedly made in China, entered the Taiwanese market and were sold to 13 government agencies. According to regulations, the kits should be manufactured in factories in the US, but the importer allegedly imported poor-quality kits from China illegally and sold them as US-made products, FDA section chief Fu Ying-hsien (傅映先) said. The FDA ordered that all Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Tests that were imported by Safeway OA Supply Co Ltd (大鑫資訊) be recalled and warned customers against buying or
NEW TRAVEL REGIME: The CECC advised people to stay put in between quarantine and self-disease prevention, but said that they could apply for a location change Inbound travelers who need to change locations for the four-day self-disease prevention period following their three-day quarantine must apply with their local government, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The “one person per household” principle would remain in place under the new “3+4” quarantine policy, which was implemented yesterday, the center said. More than 4,500 incoming travelers were expected yesterday, including more than 980 people who entered Taiwan in the early morning, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), the CECC’s acting spokesman and medical response division deputy head. Lo said many people had asked the CECC whether
RSS