TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is on an accelerated pace to become a "super-aged society" before the end of the year, with one-quarter of Taiwan's administrative regions reaching this status ahead of the original projection of 2025.

According to Ministry of the Interior statistics, two more administrative regions have reached the threshold of having more than 20% of the population aged 65 or over, making them super-aged societies, reported SET News. The two regions to reach this milestone are Keelung City and Pingtung County, bringing the total to six out of 22.

In 2022, Taiwan already had four administrative regions that had super-aged populations. This included Chiayi County with 22.36% aged 65 or older, followed by Nantou County at 20.83%, Yunlin County at 20.63%, and Taipei City at 22.02%.

Last year, two more regions were added: Keelung City at 20.24% and Pingtung County at 20.14%. This means that one-fourth of Taiwan's counties and cities have entered the category of a super-aged population, and it is likely that the time frame for reaching the originally projected 2025 scenario, when one in every five people will be over 65 years old, may come before the end of this year.

According to the WHO, an "aging society" is one in which 7% of the population is aged 65 and over, an "aged society" is one in which 14% have reached this age range, and a "super-aged society" is one in which more than 20% have hit this classification. Currently, one-fourth of Taiwan's 22 counties and cities have already exceeded the 20% mark and entered the category of a super-aged society.

Hsin Ping-lung (辛炳隆), an associate professor at National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development, was cited by FTV News as saying that Taiwan's population is aging rapidly. Although the percentage of Taiwan's aged population may not be ranked among the top three in the world, "I think the speed at which we are aging should be ranked among the top three in the world," the professor said. 

Hsin said that in urban areas, the negative impact on the economy is not as significant due to foreign migrant workers. However, in more rural counties and cities, if the population ages, it may resemble many places in Japan, where entire cities have virtually no residents.

"Without residents and and people, there will be no economic activity and local tax revenue cannot be generated, which could cause fiscal issues," said Hsin.