Taiwan is expected to replace South Korea as the country with the lowest birthrate by 2035, population projections by the National Development Council showed.
The nation’s birthrate is expected to be the lowest in the world with 1.12 births per woman in 2035, when South Korea’s birthrate is expected to be 1.18, data released by the council showed.
Taiwan previously had the lowest birthrate in the world when the number fell to 0.9 births per woman in 2015, but the figure increased slightly to 0.99 in 2020, topping South Korea’s 0.84, the data showed.
Photo: CNA
Japan became a super-aged society in 2005, while Taiwan and South Korea are expected to follow suit by 2025, but they have been forecast to age faster than Japan.
According to the WHO, nations where at least 7 percent of the population are 65 or older are considered an aging society, those with an elderly population of at least 14 percent are considered an aged society and those with an elderly population of at least 20 percent are deemed a super-aged society.
It took Western countries such as the US, the UK, Germany and France 46 to 126 years to progress from an aging society to an aged society, and another 15 to 51 years to move from an aged society to a super-aged society, the data showed.
In comparison, the transitions in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore — the four Asian Tigers — happened faster, with Taiwan and South Korea expected to progress from an aged to super-aged society in seven years, and Hong Kong and Singapore in nine years, the data showed.
The Asian Tigers’ economies took off between 1960 and 1990, which could be attributed to their export-oriented trading strategies, the international division of labor and the demographic dividend, which occurs when the working population aged 15 to 64 accounts for more than two-thirds of the overall population, the council said.
However, the demographic dividend period for the Asian Tigers would end in a decade, while their dependency ratios would continue to climb.
For instance, Taiwan’s working-age population is expected to make up 68.1 percent of the total population by 2025, while the figure in South Korea is expected to be 69.2 percent, the council said.
The demographic dividend is forecast to end in 2030 in both nations, with the working-age population dropping to 65.3 percent of the total population in Taiwan and 66 percent in South Korea.
As Taiwan continues to age faster, the working-age population is expected to make up less than 50 percent of the total population in 2060, meaning that the number of people who support the nation’s economy and pay taxes would be fewer than those who are dependent on them, the council said.
The figure is expected to be higher than South Korea’s 48.5 percent, but lower than Japan’s 51.6 percent, the US’ 60 percent, the UK’s 59 percent and Germany’s 57.2 percent.
As for the aging index, which measures the number of people aged 65 or older per 100 people younger than 15, Taiwan’s and South Korea’s figures are predicted to climb to 408 percent and 456.2 percent respectively by 2050, which would be among the highest in the world, the council said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College