The number of newborn babies in Taiwan last year continued to fall, with only 166,886 babies born, 24,424 less than in 2008 and a historic low, according to the population index report for 2009 released by the Ministry of the Interior Jan. 8.
The ministry said Taiwan’s total fertility rate fell from 1.03 to 0.91, which means that the average woman in Taiwan bears less than one child in her lifetime.
MOI officials said people avoided having children last year, the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac, which according to folk belief is one of the most inauspicious years for childbearing.
“Though a fall in births last year was to be expected, the scale of the decrease is alarming,” an official said, adding that the number of newborns was only half of the figure 10 years ago.
Officials believe that a lack of jobs and stagnant pay were behind the falling birthrate, despite a recent series of childcare subsidy policies.
Child welfare experts agree, saying financial considerations are the major concern for young people to have children.
“Working parents are also worried about not being able to find a good babysitter they can afford,” said Tsai Wan-fen, secretary-general of Taiwan Women’s Link. In Taipei, parents have to pay up to NT$18,000 (US$604) per month for the care of a young child, she added.
Other population indices show the number of people between the ages of zero and 14 accounts for 15.65 percent of the total population, a 0.69 percentage-point decrease from the 2008 figure. The working age population—between 15 and 64—posted an increase of 0.58 percentage point, to make up 73.61 percent of the total population.
Meanwhile, the age group of 65 and above represents 10.74 percent of the total population, above the 7-percent level at which the World Health Organization defines a society as “ageing,” the MOI said. (THN)