Taiwan's population falls for 25th consecutive month

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) Taiwan's population fell for a 25th consecutive month in January, with the number of live births falling by 304 from December 2025, according to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI).

As of the end of January, Taiwan's population totaled 23,289,045, down 10,087 from December 2025, the data showed.

A total of 8,723 babies were born in January, 304 fewer than in December and 772 fewer than a year earlier.

That translates to roughly one birth every 5.1 minutes and an annual crude birth rate of 4.41 per 1,000 people, MOI 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 2024. The crude death rate was 8.86 per 1,000 people, the data indicated.

The natural population decrease, the difference between births and deaths, was 8,806 in January, MOI data showed.

In addition, the country recorded a net migration decrease of 1,281 people in January, with 71,042 people immigrating and 72,323 emigrating, according to the data.

Demographic data showed that people ages 0 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 MOI data also showed that the population aged 65 and older totaled 4,692,484, or 20.15 percent of the population, meeting the United Nations' 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 City had the highest share of residents aged 65 and older at 24.26 percent, while Hsinchu County had the lowest at 15.15 percent.