The island’s internal affairs department of Taiwan said on Friday that Taiwan’s population declined in 2024, failing to sustain its 2023 rebound.

According to the department, as of the end of 2024, Taiwan’s population was approximately 23.4 million, a decrease of 20,222 people compared to the end of 2023.

The number of newborns in 2024 fell to 134,856, the lowest figure since records began.

This represented a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a drop of 715 births from 2023, marking the ninth consecutive annual decline since 2016.

A total of 202,107 deaths were recorded on the island in 2024, equivalent to a crude death rate of 8.63 per 1,000 people, which was 3,261 fewer deaths than in 2023.

The number of marriages also declined, with 123,061 couples tying the knot in Taiwan in 2024, 2,131 fewer than the previous year.

The proportion of the population aged 65 and above accounted for 19.18 per cent of the region’s total.

This means that Taiwan is now on the brink of becoming a super-aged society in which seniors aged 65 and above account for 20 per cent of the total population.

(Xinhua/NAN)