Taiwan low birth rate sparks national crisis

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's falling birth rate is gradually becoming a national crisis, as the National Development Council reported in 2021 that the total fertility rate (TFR) was 0.98.

This means that, on average, women give birth to fewer than one child in their lifetime.

By the current trajectory, the NDC predicts that Taiwan will surpass South Korea's low birth rate, becoming the country with the lowest birth rate by 2035.

Against this backdrop, businesses in Taiwan are now trying to do their part in fixing the situation, with many providing childbirth subsidies and longer maternity leave to new parents.

As the costs of raising a child continue to rise in Taiwan, the island is headed straight to becoming a super-aged society in two years' time.

Yin Chang-sheng, an obstetrician at the Kang-Ning General Hospital, explained that "over the last decade, the number of births has decreased by about 10,000 per year."

"Now it's about 130,000 or so; this year it is about 139,000 (newborns)."

The doctor estimates that the birth rate in Taiwan this year will mark yet another new low. He pointed out that couples might want to give it some time before adding another member to their family due to the pandemic and the usual low expectations in the Year of the Tiger.