Monthly births fell below 7,000 for the first time last month, marking the 26th consecutive month that Taiwan’s population has decreased, Ministry of the Interior data showed.
There were 6,523 births last month, a decrease of 2,200 births compared with January, showing a 25.2 percent drop.
As of the end of last month, Taiwan’s population was 23,280,273.
That is 104,431 fewer than this time last year, falling an average of 285.87 per day, the ministry said.
It is 8,772 less than the population was in January, it said.
Looking at cities and counties, compared with the same time last year, Taoyuan had the highest population growth at 0.6 percent, followed by Hsinchu County at 0.29 percent and Taichung at 0.18 percent.
The largest population declines were in Kinmen County at 2.5 percent, Lienchiang County (Matsu) at 1.96 percent and Taipei at 1.87 percent.
Penghu County had the highest crude birthrate last month at 5.62 per 1,000 people, followed by Taitung County at 4.95 per 1,000 and Hualien County at 4.68 per 1,000.
The lowest were Keelung at 2.54 per 1,000, Tainan at 2.85 per 1,000 and Lienchiang County at 2.87 per 1,000.
In addition, there were 14,881 deaths last month, averaging about one death every 2.7 minutes and 2,648 fewer than in January.
Furthermore, there were 6,733 marriages last month, 199 of which were same-sex couples, and 2,995 divorces, 56 of which were same-sex couples.
As of the end of last month, 11.46 percent of Taiwan’s population was aged up to 14, 68.32 percent was 15 to 64 and 20.22 percent was over 65.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS