Taiwan's population shrinks for 8th consecutive month: Gov't data

Taipei, Sept. 10 (CNA) Taiwan's population shrank by 0.01 percent in August, continuing a slight but ongoing monthly decline for eight months, despite positive annual growth last year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on Tuesday.

The tallies showed that Taiwan's population as of the end of August was 23,406,608, a decrease of 2,715 from July.

Still, the August figure represented a population increase of 6,954 people, or 0.03 percent, compared to the same month last year, the MOI data indicated.

There were 11,643 births and 16,830 deaths in August, with an average of one baby born every 3.8 minutes and one death occurring every 2.7 minutes, the data showed.

Meanwhile, the net number of people moving into the country in August was 2,472, with a city-by-city breakdown showing Taoyuan, New Taipei, and Taichung as the top three destinations.

The country's population was 23,424,442 at the end of 2023 -- an increase of 155,802 from 2022 -- ending the annual population decline that had persisted since 2020, the MOI data showed.