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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Population drops 0.84％ from last year
A nurse holds a baby at a maternity ward in Hsinchu City on Jan. 1. Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
BIRTHRATE IMBALANCE: Migration also contributed to the trend, as about 20,000 more people left Taiwan than became residents over the past 12 months, official data showed
By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer
Taiwan’s population has continued to decline, as government data showed a population of 23,349,666 last month, down by 198,967 people, or 0.84 percent, from January last year.
However, the population in some areas increased, with the strongest gains in Lienchang County at 2.72 percent, Hsinchu at 0.84 percent and Kinmen County at 0.69 percent, the data, published by the Ministry of the Interior’s Department of Household Registration, showed yesterday.
The sharpest declines were in Taipei, dropping 3.2 percent; Chiayi County, dropping 1.25 percent; and Nantou County, dropping 1.22 percent, the data showed.
Nationwide, the number of males dropped by 100,902, or 0.86 percent, to 11,565,761, while the number of females dropped by 98,065, or 0.83 percent, to 11,783,905, the data showed.
There were 98.15 males per 100 females, with the gap widening by 0.04 percent from a year earlier, they showed.
Taiwan last month recorded 13,137 births, with a crude birthrate of 6.62 percent, up by 3,536 births, or 36.83 percent, from a year earlier, the data showed.
The crude birthrates were highest in Changhua County at 9.29 percent, Penghu County at 9.08 percent and Taoyuan at 8.83 percent, they showed.
Miaoli, Chiayi and Pingtung counties had the lowest crude birthrates at 4.53 percent, 4.72 percent and 4.93 percent respectively, the data showed.
The nation last month reported 15,954 deaths, with a crude death rate of 8.04 percent, down by 378 deaths, or 2.31 percent, from January last year, they showed.
The highest crude death rates were in Yunlin County at 12.34 percent, Chiayi County at 11.97 percent and Hualien County at 10.89 percent, they showed.
Lienchiang, Kinmen and Hsinchu had the lowest crude death rates at 2.59 percent, 5.57 percent and 5.78 percent respectively, the data showed.
Last month, 81,011 people migrated to Taiwan, up by 11,853 people, or 17.14 percent, from a year earlier, they showed.
The data also showed that 103,843 residents left Taiwan, up by 28,812 people, or 38.40 percent, from a year earlier.
Taiwan’s population shrank for the first time on record in 2020, when 165,249 births and 173,156 deaths were reported, ministry data showed.
By the end of that year, Taiwan’s population was 23,561,236, down 0.18 percent from 2019, it showed.
The population last year dropped further to 23,375,314, as 183,732 deaths and an all-time low of 153,820 births were reported, the data showed.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
