Number of newborns declines for 9th straight year in Taiwan

Taipei, Jan. 10 (CNA) A total of 134,856 babies were born in 2024, 715 less than in 2023, marking the ninth consecutive year of decline, according to Ministry of the Interior (MOI) data released Friday.

Last year also marked the lowest-ever number of newborns in Taiwan.

The number has been declining since 2016 when 208,440 babies were born. There were 193,844 newborn babies in 2017, 181,601 in 2018, 177,767 in 2019, 165,249 in 2020, 153,820 in 2021, 138,986 in 2022, and 135,571 in 2023, MOI data showed.

The crude birth rate -- the number of live births per 1,000 people -- in 2024 was 5.76, the MOI said.

Meanwhile, 202,107 people died last year, a fall from 205,368 in 2023, according to MOI data.

As a result, Taiwan's natural population increase, calculated by subtracting deaths from births, was negative 67,251 in 2024.

The social increase -- the number of people moving to Taiwan minus the number leaving -- was 47,029 people.

Considering the figures for natural population and social increases, Taiwan's total population amounted to 23,400,220 at the end of 2024, a decrease of 20,222 compared to 2023.

The MOI statistics also indicated that 123,061 couples married in 2024, 2,131 fewer than the 125,192 who tied the knot in 2023.

Regarding demographic structure, 11.72 percent, or 2,742,386 people, were aged 0-14; 16,169,127 people were between ages 15 and 64, making up 69.1 percent of the population; and 4,488,707 people were aged over 65, making up 19.18 percent of the population.

This shows that Taiwan is on the verge of becoming a superaged society -- meaning more than 20 percent of the population is above 65.