an elderly couple sharing a tender moment at MeiG Leisure Farm, Taiwan. The island of more than 23 million people faces a looming demographic challenge, with its population falling overall as well as ageing. — LOW LAY PHON/The Star
TAIPEI: Taiwan has become a "super-aged society" for the first time, with 20 per cent of its shrinking population aged 65 or older in 2025, government data showed on Friday.
The island of more than 23 million people faces a looming demographic challenge, with its population falling overall as well as ageing.
There were 4,673,155 people aged 65 or older in Taiwan in 2025, or 20.06 per cent of the population, according to the interior ministry.
That means it met the World Health Organisation's criteria for a super-aged society, with one in every five citizens aged 65 or more.
The number of people aged 0-14 accounted for 11.51 per cent of the population, the ministry's data showed.
Only 9,027 newborns were recorded in December 2025, a decrease of 27 per cent from a year earlier, with the total number of newborns last year hitting a record low of 107,812.
The crude birth rate, based on the number of childbirths per 1,000 people each year, came in at 4.56 last month.
Taiwan's population shrank for the first time in 2020, while its birth rate has been falling continuously for two decades.
Demographers say Taiwanese women are increasingly getting married at an older age, opting for smaller families, or choosing to stay single.
Rising living costs and insufficient childcare support have also forced some working women to postpone plans to become mothers.
The government proposed last month expanding access to assisted reproduction for single women and married same-sex female couples in a bid to boost birth rates. - AFP
