In 2023, the average total fertility rate in Taiwan ranged at around **** children per woman over lifetime. This extremely low figure is not expected to increase over the coming years. Taiwan’s demographic development Taiwan was once known for its strong population growth. After the retreat of the Republican government to the island in 1949, the population grew quickly. However, during Taiwan’s rapid economic development thereafter, the fertility rate dropped substantially. This drastic change occurred in most East Asian countries as well, of which many have some of the lowest fertility rates in the world today. As a result, populations in many East Asian regions are already shrinking or are expected to do so soon.In Taiwan, population decreased in 2020 for the first time, and the declining trend is expected to accelerate in the years ahead. At the same time, life expectancy has increased considerably, and Taiwan’s population is now aging at fast pace, posing a huge challenge to the island’s social security net. Addressing challenges of an aging society Most east Asian countries could, until recently, afford generous public pensions and health care systems, but now need to adjust to their changing reality. Besides providing incentives to raise children, the Taiwanese government also tries to attract more immigrants by lowering requirements for permanent residency. As both strategies have been met with limited success, the focus remains on reforming the pension system. This is being done mainly by raising the retirement age, promoting late-age employment, increasing pension contributions, and lowering pension payments.

Taiwan Total Fertility Rate: Children per Woman data was reported at 0.870 Person in 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.870 Person for 2022. Taiwan Total Fertility Rate: Children per Woman data is updated yearly, averaging 1.180 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2023, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.790 Person in 1990 and a record low of 0.870 Person in 2023. Taiwan Total Fertility Rate: Children per Woman data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Taiwan – Table TW.OECD.GGI: Social: Demography: Non OECD Member: Annual.

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.

The statistic shows the 20 countries with the lowest fertility rates in 2024. All figures are estimates. In 2024, the fertility rate in Taiwan was estimated to be at 1.11 children per woman, making it the lowest fertility rate worldwide. Fertility rate The fertility rate is the average number of children born per woman of child-bearing age in a country. Usually, a woman aged between 15 and 45 is considered to be in her child-bearing years. The fertility rate of a country provides an insight into its economic state, as well as the level of health and education of its population. Developing countries usually have a higher fertility rate due to lack of access to birth control and contraception, and to women usually foregoing a higher education, or even any education at all, in favor of taking care of housework. Many families in poorer countries also need their children to help provide for the family by starting to work early and/or as caretakers for their parents in old age. In developed countries, fertility rates and birth rates are usually much lower, as birth control is easier to obtain and women often choose a career before becoming a mother. Additionally, if the number of women of child-bearing age declines, so does the fertility rate of a country. As can be seen above, countries like Hong Kong are a good example for women leaving the patriarchal structures and focusing on their own career instead of becoming a mother at a young age, causing a decline of the country’s fertility rate. A look at the fertility rate per woman worldwide by income group also shows that women with a low income tend to have more children than those with a high income. The United States are neither among the countries with the lowest, nor among those with the highest fertility rate, by the way. At 2.08 children per woman, the fertility rate in the US has been continuously slightly below the global average of about 2.4 children per woman over the last decade.

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women had the highest fertility rate of any ethnicity in the United States in 2022, with about 2,237.5 births per 1,000 women. The fertility rate for all ethnicities in the U.S. was 1,656.5 births per 1,000 women. What is the total fertility rate? The total fertility rate is an estimation of the number of children who would theoretically be born per 1,000 women through their childbearing years (generally considered to be between the ages of 15 and 44) according to age-specific fertility rates. The fertility rate is different from the birth rate, in that the birth rate is the number of births in relation to the population over a specific period of time. Fertility rates around the world Fertility rates around the world differ on a country-by-country basis, and more industrialized countries tend to see lower fertility rates. For example, Niger topped the list of the countries with the highest fertility rates, and Taiwan had the lowest fertility rate.

总生育率：每名女性生育儿童数量在12-01-2023达0.870人，相较于12-01-2022的0.870人保持不变。总生育率：每名女性生育儿童数量数据按年更新，12-01-1990至12-01-2023期间平均值为1.180人，共34份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-1990，达1.790人，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-2023，为0.870人。CEIC提供的总生育率：每名女性生育儿童数量数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development，数据归类于全球数据库的中国台湾 – Table TW.OECD.GGI: Social: Demography: Non OECD Member: Annual。

In 2023, the Italian region which registered the highest fertility rate was Trentino-South Tyrol, where the average number of children born per female reached 1.42 infants. Over the last years, the fertility rate in Italy has constantly decreased, except for 2021 when a slight increase by 0.01 points was recorded. Fewer and fewer children born per womanThe average number of children born per female significantly varied from the middle of the twentieth century to present days. In 2017, Italian women were on average a mother of one child, whereas about seven decades earlier, females had on average at least two kids. The lowest fertility rates worldwide From the global perspective, Italy was one of the world's twenty countries with the lowest fertility rate in 2023. This figure in Taiwan reached only 1.07 children per woman, placing the country on top of the ranking.

The fertility rates have fallen in all five Nordic countries over the last years. However, in 2021, the birth rates increased again in all five Nordics countries, besides in Sweden, where the fertility rate stayed the same. This can be explained by the higher number of babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Iceland had the highest fertility rate of the Nordic countries, with *** children born per woman in reproductive age. The global trend of decreasing fertility The Nordics are not the only region with decreasing fertility rates. Globally, fertility rates have been on a steady decline since 2000. While lower-income countries have had more significant declines, they still have more children born per woman than higher-income countries. In 2000, almost * children were born per woman in low-income countries, decreasing to **** in 2021. By comparison, nearly **** children were born per woman in high-income countries, falling slightly to **** by 2021. Overall, in 2023, Niger, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo had the highest fertility rates, while Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore had the lowest fertility rates. Impacts of low fertility Greater access to education, challenges between work-life balance, and the costs of raising children can all be linked to falling fertility rates. However, this decline is not without consequences, and many countries are facing social and economic challenges because of aging and shrinking populations. For example, in Japan, where nearly ** percent of the country is aged 65 or older, an increasing proportion of the government expenditure is going towards social security benefits. Moreover, the very low unemployment rate in Japan can partially be attributed to having a shrinking labor force and fewer people to support the economy.