The latest population census indicates that there are now more females than males in Taiwan, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Nov. 3.
“Such a result has never been found in the history of census taking in Taiwan,” said the DGBAS, which added that Taiwan first began gathering and recording information on its population in 1956.
The most recent census was conducted between Dec. 26, 2010, and Jan. 22, 2011, according to the DGBAS.
“In the latest census, males accounted for 49.7 percent of the total population of 23.12 million citizens, while females accounted for 50.3 percent,” said the DGBAS. “For every 100 females, there are now only 99.6 males.
“The main reason for this is the immigration of foreign female spouses,” said the DGBAS. “Another factor is that Taiwanese men have higher cross-national mobility than Taiwanese women. In other words, the number of males permanently residing abroad is higher than the number of females.”
The census, which is now taken once every 10 years, also showed that the numbers of those divorced, separated and unmarried have all increased over the last decade, the DGBAS noted.
“For those aged 15 or above, there were 1.05 million people who were either divorced or separated, 549,000 more than 10 years ago,” said the DGBAS.
The percentage of unmarried people for those between 25 and 29 has surged from 57.7 percent to 73.5 percent, and for those between 30 and 34 from 27.8 percent to 41.1 percent, according to the DGBAS.
The figures also revealed that there were 3.58 million youths under 15 years old as of the end of 2010, a decrease of 1.08 million from a decade ago, while the number of elderly citizens rose by 558,000 to 2.44 million. “This indicates the phenomenon of a low birthrate and aging society is more and more obvious,” the DGBAS said.
In addition, the size of the typical family has dwindled, with an average of only three people per household as of the end of last year, the DGBAS pointed out. (HZW)
Write to Grace Kuo at morningk@mail.gio.gov.tw