Taiwan’s population fell for a 25th consecutive month last month, with the number of live births falling by 304 from December, according to data released yesterday by the Ministry of the Interior.
As of the end of last month, Taiwan’s population totaled 23,289,045, down 10,087 from December, the data showed.
A total of 8,723 babies were born, 304 fewer than in December and 772 fewer than a year earlier.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu County Government
That translates to about one birth every 5.1 minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.41 per 1,000 people, the data showed.
Deaths totaled 17,529 for the month, or about one every 2.5 minutes, up 79 from December and 2,511 more than in January last year.
The crude death rate was 8.86 per 1,000 people, the data showed.
The natural population decrease, the difference between births and deaths, was 8,806 last month, the data showed.
In addition, the nation recorded a net migration decrease of 1,281 people, with 71,042 people immigrating and 72,323 emigrating, according to the data.
Demographic data showed that people aged up to 14 accounted for 11.49 percent of the population (2,675,210), while those ages 15 to 64 made up 68.36 percent (15,921,351).
The data also showed that the population aged 65 and older totaled 4,692,484, or 20.15 percent of the population, meeting the UN’s definition of a “super-aged society,” in which people 65 and older account for more than 20 percent of the population.
Among local governments, Taipei had the highest share of residents aged 65 and older at 24.26 percent, while Hsinchu County had the lowest at 15.15 percent
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