Four counties and cities are already super-aged, and Taipei has the oldest population among the six special municipalities, Ministry of the Interior statistics showed.
The UN defines a society as “aging” when 7 percent of its population is older than 65. When that age group accounts for 14 percent of a society, it is called an “aged society,” and when it reaches 20 percent, it is called a “super-aged society.” Nationwide, 17.56 percent of Taiwanese are over 65.
The National Development Council has predicted for years that Taiwan would become a super-aged society by 2025, but four counties and cities have already reached that threshold, ministry figures showed.
Elderly people account for 21.69 percent of Chiayi County’s population, while adults over 65 make up 20.91 percent of the population of Taipei, 20.13 percent of Nantou County and 20.12 percent of Yunlin County.
Among the six special municipalities, Taipei has the highest ratio of people over 65, followed by Kaohsiung at 18.33 percent, Tainan at 18.03 percent, New Taipei City at 17.05 percent, Taichung at 15.08 and Taoyuan at 14.28 percent.
However, in terms of the number of elderly residents, New Taipei City has the most at 680,000, followed by Taipei at 510,000.
The statistics showed that the youngest counties and cities to be Hsinchu County, with elderly residents making up 13.64 percent of the population, followed by Lienchiang County with 14 percent, Hsinchu City with 14.16 percent and Taoyuan with 14.28 percent.
However, according to the international definition, even the youngest counties and cities in Taiwan have become aging societies.
Meanwhile, the percentage of the population aged six or younger is 6.82 percent in Hsinchu County, 6.71 percent in Hsinchu City, 6.3 percent in Taoyuan, 5.85 percent in Taichung, 5.47 percent in 4.13 percent in Kinmen County, 4.09 percent in Keelung and 3.69 percent in Changhua County.
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