At the end of 2024, around four million people were living in New Taipei City, the municipality surrounding Taiwan's capital Taipei City. The total population of Taiwan amounted to approximately 23.4 million people.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Taibei, Taiwan metro area from 1950 to 2025.

In 2024, the total population of Taiwan increased to approximately 23.4 million people. The significant drop in 2021 and 2022 was mainly due to people leaving the island during the coronavirus pandemic, while the natural growth rate was also slightly negative. The return of many people in 2023 led to a growth in population. According to national statistics and projections, population numbers entered a general declining path in 2020. Taiwan's demographic development Taiwan experienced rapid population growth in the 1950s and 60s, but alongside with economic development, growth rates decreased significantly. Falling birth figures have also been attributed to Taiwan’s family planning policy, which was aimed at keeping population growth at check. This led to a situation on the island where overall population density was very high and still growing, while the total fertility rate dropped quickly and eventually reached extremely low levels compared internationally. In the 21st century, the challenges of a quickly aging society became more and more apparent and the government initiated family friendly and birth promoting policies. However, fertility still kept on decreasing and reached a historical low in 2010 at 0.9 births per woman on average, and only in recent years has the number of births increased slightly. Implications of an aging society Today's Taiwan, like many East Asian societies, faces the challenges of a rapidly aging population. While the share of the population aged 65 and older accounted to around 18 percent in 2023, it is projected to reach 43 percent in 2060. The old-age dependency ratio, which denotes the relation of people of 65 years and above to the working-age population, is expected to reach around 87 percent in those years. This puts heavy pressure on the working people and the economy as a whole. However, compared to mainland China, which is in a very much comparable demographic situation, Taiwan enjoys the advantage of a relatively wealthy society, which helps to curb the negative economic effects of an aging population.

In 2024, the share of the population in Taiwan aged 65 and older accounted for approximately 19.2 percent of the total population. While the share of old people on the island increased gradually over recent years, the percentage of the working-age population and the children have both declined. Taiwan’s aging population With one of the lowest fertility rates in the world and a steadily growing life expectancy, the average age of Taiwan’s population is increasing quickly, and the share of people aged 65 and above is expected to reach around 38.4 percent of the total population in 2050. This development is also reflected in Taiwan’s population pyramid, which shows that the size of the youngest age group is only half of the size of age groups between 40 and 60 years. The rapid aging of the populations puts a heavy burden on the social insurance system. Old-age dependency is expected to reach more than 70 percent by 2050, meaning that by then three people of working age will have to support two elders, compared to only one elder supported by four working people today. Aging societies in East Asia Today, many countries in East Asia have very low fertility rates and face the challenges of aging societies. This is especially true among those countries that experienced high economic growth in the past, which often resulted in quickly receding birth rates. Japan was one of the first East Asian countries witnessing this demographic change, as is reflected in its high median age. South Korea had the lowest fertility rate of all Asian countries in recent years, and with China, one of the largest populations on earth joined the ranks of quickly aging societies.

In 2024, Taipei City had the highest population density of all cities and counties in Taiwan with around 9,164 people on average living on one square kilometer. The average population density in Taiwan ranged at around 646 people per square kilometer.

According to a projected five-year age distribution of the population of Taiwan as of end of 2024, the largest age cohort was that between 40 and 44 years of age, amounting to around *** million people. The total population of Taiwan ranged at approximately **** million people at the end of 2024. A breakdown of the population by broad age groups reveals that around ** percent of the total population was in working age between 15 and 64 years in 2024.

This statistic shows the year-end population of Taiwan from 2014 to 2024, by gender. By the end of 2024, around 11.87 million of the population in Taiwan were female.

In 2024, around ******* foreign residents were living in Taiwan. The largest share of immigrants originated from South East Asian countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

In 2024, Taiwan’s gross domestic product amounted to around 782.44 billion U.S. dollars. Gross domestic product (GDP) denotes the aggregate value of all services and goods produced within a country in any given year. Taiwan’s GDP is projected to reach 960.13 billion U.S. dollars by 2030. Taiwan has the largest economy of any nation not a member of the United Nations (UN). Analyzing Taiwan’s economy Taiwan’s services sector generates the highest share of its GDP, at around 62 percent, though its industry sector also contributes about 35 percent to overall GDP in Taiwan. During the last decade, Taiwan has consistently held a trade surplus, and is known for its exports of electronics, machinery, and petrochemicals. Taiwan’s population Taiwan is a densely populated state, with a total population of about 23 million people, most of whom are between the ages of 15-64 years. Many members of the population are working; the unemployment rate was at only 3.8 percent in 2017. As one of the world’s technology hardware centers, Taiwan’s work force is comprised of high-skilled workers capable of navigating new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.

The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Taiwan stood at about 33.44 thousand U.S. dollars in 2024. Between 1980 and 2024, the GDP per capita rose by approximately 31.07 thousand U.S. dollars, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend. The GDP per capita will steadily rise by around 7.80 thousand U.S. dollars over the period from 2024 to 2030, reflecting a clear upward trend.This indicator describes the gross domestic product per capita at current prices. Thereby, the gross domestic product was first converted from national currency to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates and then divided by the total population. The gross domestic product is a measure of a country's productivity. It refers to the total value of goods and service produced during a given time period (here a year).

As of January 2024, the number of social media users in Taiwan amounted to around 19.2 million, accounting for around 80 percent of the island's total population. YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram were the most popular social media platforms in Taiwan. Less active but highly relevant When compared with other users in Asia-Pacific region, Taiwanese people appeared to be less likely to stick around on social media and they also owned fewer social media accounts. However, survey results showed that social media could soon replace TV as the major news source. Besides, many Taiwanese consumers use social media to discover brands and products. YouTube vs Facebook It could be surprising to see YouTube has leapfrogged Facebook in Taiwan in terms of audience reach. The video-sharing platform has amassed about 18 million users on the island, representing 83 percent of its internet population. On the other hand, the usage rate of Facebook fell to about 79.8 percent in 2022 and was estimated to further drop to 72.7 percent in 2026. Facebook’s declining popularity across the world reflects that video is the future of content marketing.