Taiwan posts second-lowest monthly births on record in May

Taipei, June 10 (CNA) Taiwan recorded 6,832 births in May, the second-lowest monthly total on record after February's all-time low of 6,523, extending a 29-month streak of year-on-year declines in births, government data showed Wednesday.

The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) published annual household registration statistics showing that Taiwan's population stood at 23,252,641 at the end of last month, down 102,829 from a year earlier and 9,903 fewer than the previous month.

MOI data showed Taiwan had 6,832 births in May, compared with 8,144 in April and 8,433 a year earlier, the second-lowest monthly total on record after February's 6,523.

The crude birth rate in May was 3.64 per 1,000 people, led by Taitung County at 5.09, followed by Penghu County at 4.64 and Hsinchu City at 4.37, while Keelung recorded the lowest at 1.90, followed by Miaoli at 2.69 and Chiayi County at 2.75.

There were 15,158 deaths in May, with a crude death rate of 7.67 per 1,000 people, down 224 from the same period last year and 836 from April.

Taiwan became a super-aged society last year, meaning that 20 percent of its population is aged 65 or older.

As of the end of May, the population aged 0-14 stood at 2,642,980, accounting for 11.37 percent of the total; those aged 15-64 totaled 15,859,310, or 68.20 percent; and those aged 65 and above reached 4,750,351, or 20.43 percent, according to the MOI.