The number of babies born in the nation during the first six months of the year reached 82,712, a decline of 8.9 percent compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of the Interior’s latest statistics released on Saturday showed.
The ministry attributed the drop to some people’s reluctance to have children born in the “Year of the Tiger,” in the 12-year cycle of animals on the Chinese zodiac.
However, the drop was smaller than the 16.7 percent year-on-year decline in the previous Year of the Tiger in 1998, the ministry said in a statement.
For the period from January to last month, there was a crude birth rate of only 3.58, the lowest level ever in Taiwan, the statistics showed. Crude birth rate is calculated based on the number of babies born per 1,000 people per year.
Taiwan had one of the world’s lowest birth rates with eight births per 1,000 people last year, far lower than the global average of 20 births per 1,000 people.
Last year, 191,310 babies were born in Taiwan, down nearly 4 percent from the previous year.
The latest ministry tallies show that Hsinchu City, the high-tech hub near Taipei, recorded the highest birth rate, 5.8 per 1,000, among all cities and counties in Taiwan, followed by 5.37 in Kinmen County and 5 in Hsinchu County.
More than 90 percent of newborn babies in the first six months of the year were born to local mothers, while 5 percent were born to mothers from China, Hong Kong and Macau and 3.9 percent to mothers from other countries, the statistics showed.
The government has launched many programs to boost the birth rate, including subsidies for families to hire nannies or have their babies attend day care centers, as well as subsidies for people who want to go on extended parental leave, the ministry said.
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