Taiwan has inched closer to becoming a super-aged society as nearly 20 percent of the population is 65 or older, Ministry of the Interior data showed.
The WHO defines a “super-aged society” as one in which 20 percent of the people are 65 or older.
As of last month, the nation had about 4.65 million people aged 65 or older, accounting for 19.99 percent of the population. Meanwhile, 68.48 percent of people were aged 15 to 64, while 11.53 were 14 or younger.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Social Welfare Department
Meanwhile, the number of elderly people in 14 administrative regions had exceeded 20 percent of the population, with the top five being Taipei (24.1 percent), Chiayi County (24.03 percent), Nantou County (22.6 percent), Keelung (22.18 percent) and Pingtung County (21.77 percent).
Administrative regions with the lowest elderly population proportions were: Hsinchu County (15.02 percent), Hsinchu City (16.10 percent), Taoyuan (16.64 percent), Lienchiang (Matsu) County (17.06 percent), Taichung (17.32 percent), Kinmen County (19.63 percent), Chiayi City (19.86 percent) and New Taipei City (19.87 percent).
The nation also saw a decline in total population and newborns, ministry data showed.
The total population was 23,306,085 as of last month, down from 23,402,765 in November last year, a decline of 264.96 people per day on average.
As of last month, the nation had 98,785 newborns this year, significantly fewer than the 134,856 reported for the whole of last year.
The number of newborns in the nation decreased consecutively from 2015 to last year.
Last month, 7,946 births were reported, bringing the crude birthrate to 4.15 per 1,000 population. It was also the third time this year that the number of monthly births fell to a historic low.
A total of 14,771 died last month, bringing the crude death rate 7.71 per 1,000.
The administrative regions with the highest crude birthrates were Yunlin County (6.25 per 1,000), Taitung County (5.08 per 1,000) and Hsinchu City (5 per 1,000).
In addition, the three lowest crude birthrates were reported in Lienchiang County (1.78 per 1,000), Keelung (2.84 per 1,000) and Chiayi County (3.13 per 1,000).
The nation’s population last month dropped by 6,825 from the previous month.
Meanwhile, 59,696 people were added to the household registration system last month, while 57,639 people were removed from the system, resulting in a net increase of 2,057.
The highest net migration increases were recorded in Taichung (1,135), Taoyuan (953) and New Taipei City (710).
The nation recorded a social increase — the number of people who moved to Taiwan minus the number of people who moved away — of 2,057 people.
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