Taiwan’s population decreased in 2021 for second year in a row
The Ministry of the Interior today released population statistics for 2021, showing that Taiwan’s population continued to decline, following the first fall in population in 2020.
The MOI figures show that there were 153,820 births in 2021, a record low, and a total of 182,732 deaths. The number of deaths surpassed the number of births by 29,912.
In the month of December, there were 14,127 births, and 15,739 deaths, with deaths exceeding births by 1,612. The statistics also showed that the number of deaths exceeded the number of births in every month of the year 2021.
In 2020, by comparison, while the total number of deaths exceeded births on a yearly basis, the number of births actually exceeded the number of deaths in four months of that year.
At the end of 2021, the total population of Taiwan stood at 23,375,314, down 180,000 from the 23,561,236 at the end of 2020.
As for emigration vs immigration, the numbers also contributed to negative population growth, with 920,703 coming into the country, and 1,076,713 leaving, a difference of 150,000.
On a municipal level, the population growth rate of Lianjiang County was the highest at 2.76%, followed by Hsinchu County at 0.84%, and Kinmen County at 0.67%.
The population of Taipei City, decreased by 3%, Chiayi County saw a decrease of 1.23%, and Nantou County 1.21%.
In addition, according to the statistics of the number of households, as of the end of December last year, there were 9,006,589 households in Taiwan, an increase of 72,766 compared to the previous year, or 0.81%.
The population is decreasing but the number of households is increasing, showing the current trend of “two generations in different houses”. Young people are more independent, and society is increasingly composed of nuclear families.
As for marriages, 13,131 couples were married, another record low.
The government has described the falling birthrate as a national security crisis. Despite policies including increases in childcare allowances and subsidies, the fertility rate continues to plummet.
Cover picture: Central News Agency
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