TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's population shrank again last year due to record-low births and deaths surpassing births for the third year in a row.

On Tuesday (Jan. 10), the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) announced that the population in 2022 was 23,264,640, a decrease of 110,674 from 2021. The cumulative number of births from January to December 2022 was 138,986, a record low.

Taiwan first began experiencing a population decline in 2020 and the trend has continued to the present. While the number of births in 2022 was 138,986, the number of deaths was 207,230.

The total population count of 23,264,640 in 2022 represents a drop of 110,674 from the 23,375,314 recorded in 2021. In December 2022, there were only 12,178 births recorded, while there were 17,685 deaths reported, a difference of 5,507.

As for total births in 2022, the 138,986 registered is 14,834 fewer newborns than the 153,820 recorded in 2021.