TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's legislature, the Legislative Yuan, passed a draft amendment to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) on Thursday (Dec. 11), expanding access to reproductive technologies. The proposal now includes unmarried women over 18 and same-sex female couples, while ensuring children born through these methods retain their legitimate status. The amendment marks a significant shift in Taiwan's reproductive rights landscape amid a deepening demographic crisis.
Despite the policy expansion, Taipei Kangning Hospital (台北康寧醫院)'s maternity ward remains empty. Experts now describe Taiwan as entering a "fertility panic period." Dr. Yin Chang-sheng (尹長生) from the hospital highlighted this crisis, noting that today's empty maternity ward stands in sharp contrast to the 420,000 births recorded during the Year of the Dragon in 1976, a culturally auspicious year for births in Chinese tradition.
Dr. Yin attributed the decline in the birth rate to young people's reluctance to get married and have children. He cited high housing costs, low wages, and prohibitive child-rearing expenses as primary factors. As of November 2025, Taiwan's monthly birth figures hover between 8,000 and 9,000, with annual projections not exceeding 120,000 births. Yin warned future annual births could fall below 100,000.
The Ministry of the Interior (內政部) reported only 8,603 newborns in September 2025, marking a 27% drop from the previous year. The first nine months of 2025 saw 81,381 births, a decrease of over 16,000 compared to the same period in 2024. Deaths in September outnumbered births by nearly 7,000, continuing a 57-month trend of population decline where deaths consistently exceed births.
Taiwan is not alone in facing declining birth rates across East Asia. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生勞働省) reported a 3.1% decrease in births during the first half of 2025 compared to 2024. South Korea's Ministry of Statistics noted a slight increase in births in 2024, yet the country still has the lowest fertility rate globally. China's National Bureau of Statistics (中国国家统计局) revealed a population decrease of 1.39 million by late 2024, marking three consecutive years of population decline.
Yang Shu-wei (楊書瑋) from the Taiwan Labor Front (台灣勞工陣線協會), a labor advocacy group, expressed concern over the declining workforce, which poses challenges for businesses facing labor shortages. He warned that dual pressures from declining birth rates and an aging population could create an imbalanced labor market with increased caregiving burdens. These challenges affect not just Taiwan, but countries worldwide facing similar demographic shifts.
The National Development Council, Taiwan's top economic planning agency, predicts the island's population could shrink to approximately 17 million by 2070 if current trends persist. This would make Taiwan one of Asia's fastest-shrinking populations. High housing costs, low salaries, and childcare pressures have led many young people to forgo marriage and children.
Experts have called for enhanced government childcare support and adjustments to industrial and social policies that alleviate struggles facing young people. While some argue birth rates are no longer tied to economic conditions, the rise of female autonomy plays a significant role in this trend. Women now have more choices in education and careers, which can lead to conflicts with traditional gender roles.
Harvard Economics Professor Claudia Goldin, a Nobel laureate, stated that the focus remains on women seeking respect in the workplace, whether in traditional or career-oriented roles. Any discussion of birth rates inevitably involves addressing women's roles in society. As Taiwan grapples with these challenges, policymakers must consider innovative solutions to ensure a balanced and sustainable future. ◼
