TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's birthrate reached a historic low in April, with only 8,684 newborns, a decrease of 704 from March. This decline, as reported by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI, 內政部), underscores the ongoing downward trend in birth rates. Over the same period, Taiwan's overall population fell by nearly 50,000 compared to last year, marking the 16th consecutive month of negative growth.
According to estimates made by Statista, Taiwan's fertility rate in 2024 was the world's lowest, with an average of 1.11 children per woman, followed by South Korea at 1.12, Singapore at 1.17 and Japan at 1.4. The fertility rate represents the average number of children born per woman of childbearing age, typically between 15 and 45 years old. This metric provides insight into a country's economic state and the level of health and education of its population.
Taoyuan City experienced the highest population growth rate at 1.02%, followed by Hsinchu County at 0.98% and Taichung City at 0.55%. Conversely, Lienchiang County saw the most significant population decline at 2.05%, with Kinmen County and Taipei City following at 1.96% and 1.74%, respectively. Liu Wei-gone (劉維公), an associate professor at Soochow University (東吳大學), attributed the reluctance to have children to economic issues and widening income disparities.
Writer Wu Chuan-yu (吳娟瑜) noted that many avoid marriage and parenthood due to financial pressures like rent and parental support expenses, opting instead to save for retirement. The declining birth rate exacerbates labor shortages across industries.
In response to these challenges, Taiwan's beauty industry has reportedly incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) technology to reduce beautician training time from three years to three months. Shen Shang-chih (沈尚志), CEO of a beauty industry company, told TVBS that AI now assists in planning annual marketing strategies and cutting labor costs.
The government is also promoting AI and automation, commissioning significant public associations to offer digital transformation courses to help SMEs tackle declining birth rates and labor shortages. Ku Shang-chun (顧上鈞), deputy secretary general of the Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion (台灣連鎖加盟促進協會), highlighted this initiative.