Taiwan's life expectancy up in 2025 as Taipei records highest average

Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's average life expectancy stood at 81.27 in 2025, up from 80.77 a year earlier, with Taipei recording the longest average of 83.98 last year, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said Monday.

Despite the year-on-year rise, Taiwan's national average life expectancy had not returned to the pre-COVID 19 peak of 81.32 in 2020, the MOI said.

However, Taiwan's average was higher than the global average of 73.5 in 2025, according to the MOI.

The MOI said the number of deaths moved lower for the third consecutive year in 2025 as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic eased, down 1,674 from a year earlier to 199,639. The number of deaths at ages of 65 or older stood at 151,936 in 2025, accounting for 76.1 percent of the national total, the MOI added.

According to the MOI, the average crude death rate fell 0.005 percentage points from a year earlier to 0.885 percent in 2025.

In 2025, the average life expectancy of women and men in Taiwan rose 0.45 years and 0.51 years, respectively, from a year earlier to 84.75 and 77.93.

Average life expectancy for women in Taiwan returned to the pre-COVID-19 peak of 84.74 in 2020, but the average among men did not return to 2020's peak of 78.11, the MOI said.

Average life expectancy for both women and men in Taiwan was higher than the global average of 76.2 years and 70.9 years, according to the MOI.

In Taipei, the average life expectancy rose from 83.40 in 2024 to 83.98 in 2025, the highest level in Taiwan, ahead of Hsinchu City (82.13 years) and New Taipei City (81.54 years), the MOI said.

Average life expectancy was the lowest in Taitung County at 76.49 years. It was the only administrative area in Taiwan to report the average life expectancy below 77 years.

Taipei also recorded the highest life expectancy of 86.74 years among women in Taiwan in 2025, ahead of Hsinchu City (85.20 years), while the capital city had the highest average life expectancy of 81.10 years among men, followed by Hsinchu City (79.10 years), the MOI said.

Taitung reported the lowest average life expectancy of 81.54 years for women and 72.30 years for men, the data showed.

The latest statistics about individual administrative areas excluded Kinmen County, which saw a large population outflow, and Lienchiang County, the MOI said.