TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s population has continued to shrink for the 18th consecutive month, according to statistics released Thursday by the Ministry of the Interior.
As of the end of June, the population stood at 23,346,741, a decrease of 8,729 from May, per CNA. Compared to the same time last year, the population dropped by 66,158, averaging a daily decline of 181.25 people.
The sharpest annual population decrease was in Kinmen County at 2.73%. Lienchiang County followed at 2.61%, and Taipei at 2.11%.
Following record lows in April and May, the number of newborns in June rose to 8,968, ending a three-month slump. For the first half of 2025, births totaled 55,375, down 8,499 from the same period last year.
In June, a baby was born roughly every 4.8 minutes, with a crude birth rate of 4.67 per 1,000 people. The figure was up 535 from May but still 1,472 fewer than June 2024.
Monthly birth figures this year were 9,495 in January, 10,407 in February, 9,388 in March, 8,684 in April, 8,433 in May, and 8,968 in June.
There were 16,554 deaths in June, or about one every 2.6 minutes. This translated to a crude death rate of 8.63 per 1,000 people, up 1,632 from a year earlier and 1,172 more than in May.
In June, 71,834 people moved into Taiwan, down 49,180 from the previous month. Outbound migration totaled 72,977, a drop of 50,892, resulting in a net loss of 1,143 people.
In terms of natural population change, which is the difference between the number of births and deaths, in June was 7,586. Factoring in net migration, the overall population decline for the month was 8,729.
By age group, those 0–14 made up 11.63% of the population (2,716,281) and those 15–64 accounted for 68.78% (16,057,007). People aged 65 and older comprised 19.59% (4,573,453).
Taiwan is nearing the UN-defined threshold for a "super-aged society," where 20% or more of the population is 65 or older. Among localities, Taipei had the highest share of seniors at 23.61%, while Hsinchu County had the lowest at 14.76%.
