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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Population falls for 17 months in row
Newborns sleep in the nursery at Lee Women’s Hospital in Taichung in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of Lee Women’s Hospital
DECLINING BIRTHRATE: From January to last month, one baby was born approximately every 5.3 minutes, while last month’s birthrate decreased by 2,735 compared with last year
By Lee Wen-hsin / Staff reporter
The nation’s population declined last month to 23,355,470 from 23,365,274 in April, the 17th consecutive month the population has shrunk, based on household registration data released by the Ministry of the Interior.
The number of newborn babies was 8,433 last month, which was also a historic single-month low, ministry data showed.
The population was down 58,138 compared with the same month last year, with an average daily decrease of 159.28 people.
Yilan County, Taoyuan and Hsinchu County were the nation’s top three regions with high population increases, while the lowest population increase rates were in Kinmen County, Lienchiang County （Matsu） and Taipei.
From January to last month, 46,407 babies were born: 9,495 in January, 10,407 in February, 9,388 in March, 8,684 in April and 8,433 last month, the data showed.
One baby was born approximately every 5.3 minutes, corresponding to a crude birthrate of 4.25 per 1,000 annually. The number of births decreased by 2,735 compared with May last year and dropped by 251 compared with April.
Matsu, Yunlin and Changhua were the top three counties with the highest crude birthrates, while the lowest crude birthrates were reported in Chiayi County, Keelung and New Taipei City.
The government recorded 15,382 deaths last month, with one person dying every 2.9 minutes on average, corresponding to a crude death rate of 7.75 per 1,000 annually.
The number of deaths fell by 1,034 compared with May last year and decreased by 1,823 compared with April.
The highest crude death rates were reported in Chiayi, Nantou and Yunlin counties, while Taoyuan, New Taipei City and Hsinchu City reported the lowest.
A total of 12,791 couples married last month — 12,359 heterosexual couples and 432 same-sex couples. The crude marriage rate was approximately 6.45 per 1,000.
Meanwhile, 4,532 couples filed for divorce: 4,456 heterosexual couples and 76 same-sex couples. The crude divorce rate was 2.28 per 1,000.
Last month, the number of registered households with people moving to a new region was 121,014, an increase of 49,899 from April. The number of people moving out of a region was 123,869, also an increase of 49,899 from April. Net migration was minus-2,855.
By city or county, Taoyuan had the highest net in-migration with 2,491 people, followed by New Taipei City with 2,364 people, and Taichung with 2,036 people.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
