Taiwan Today

Fewer than 192,000 newborns are expected in Taiwan in 2009, a new historical low, according to officials from the Ministry of the Interior Oct. 23. The projected birthrate continues an ongoing downward trend. It is estimated newborns for the year 2010 will number fewer than 190,000, the MOI said. Only 137,967 babies were born in Taiwan in the first three quarters of the year, representing a 3.4 percent decline from the same period a year earlier, MOI statistics showed. Currently the total fertility rate on the island has fallen to one child per woman of child-bearing age, resulting in a sharp plunge in the number of newborns. The fertility rate was 1.7 babies per woman 10 years earlier. The MOI pointed out in order to prevent the population from aging too rapidly, some developed countries have tried to keep their birthrates at around 1.6 to 1.8 kids per woman. The United Kingdom and France have maintained a fertility rate of 1.9 babies per woman, while the United States rate is 2.1. “Due to the recent economic downturn, people have suffered from pay cuts. Those who can not afford to purchase an apartment at elevated real estate prices do not think of rearing a child while they can not even afford a home,” one MOI official said. According to the official, another reason the birthrate has fallen is that “fewer people are getting married this year as according to custom it is a bad year on the lunar calendar for weddings.” Although the government has in the past drafted a population white paper, incentives to have more children would require funds which would be difficult for the government to raise in the face of present financial difficulties, the MOI noted. (LC-THN) (This article first appeared in the “China Times” Oct. 24, 2009.)