Taiwan’s population last year fell 0.47 percent, posting the third consecutive year of decline as the number of births fell to a record low and the number of deaths reached an all-time high, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday.
The nation’s population stood at 23,264,640 as of the end of last year, down 110,674 people from 2021.
The number of births last year dropped to 138,986, down 14,834 from 2021’s 153,820.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Last year’s figure represents a crude birthrate of 5.96 births per 1,000 people, down from 6.55 in 2021. It was the first time the rate fell below 6 since 1975, when records began.
The number of deaths last year reached a record 207,230, up 23,498 from 183,732 in 2021. It was the third consecutive year that the number of deaths outpaced births, the ministry said.
The figure translates into a crude death rate of 8.89 deaths per 1,000 people, the highest on record. It is also the first time the number of deaths in Taiwan exceeded 200,000 in a year.
The nation last month recorded 12,178 births, down 1,949 from a year earlier and 170 from the previous month.
The ministry recorded 17,685 deaths last month, up 1,946 from a year earlier, but down 34 from the previous month.
A total of 119,679 people received a household registration last month, increasing by 38,685 from a year earlier and 30,001 from the previous month, while 83,125 people left the country, resulting in a net immigration figure of 36,554, the ministry said.
Last year, 1,086,712 people were added to household registration records, while 1,129,142 people were removed, resulting in 42,430 fewer people registered as new residents than people who left Taiwan last year.
However, the number of marriages last year rose to the highest in three years as 124,997 couples married, compared with 121,702 in 2020 and 114,606 in 2021.
Meanwhile, 50,609 couples got divorced last year, representing 2.17 divorces per 1,000 people, the ministry said.
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