Taiwan formally entered a super-aged society in 2025, with the population of those aged 65 years or older exceeding 20% (over 4.7 million) of the total 23.3 million residents, according to the latest Interior Ministry data released on Friday. The milestone aligns with the WHO’s definition, where societies with elderly comprising 20% or more of the population qualify as super-aged.

Births plummeted to a record low of under 108,000, marking the 10th consecutive annual decline from 2016, when the figure stood at roughly 208,000. December births totaled slightly over 9,000, up more than 1,000 from November but down almost 3,500 from 2024.

The ministry released the December household registration statistics, showing the population fell by over 101,000 from last year, continuing a two-year negative population growth trend. Deaths totaled more than 200,000, yielding a crude mortality rate of 8.6 per thousand people, down nearly 2,000 from 2024.

Population structure reflected this shift: children ages 0-14 made up 11.5% (2.7 million); those of working age 15-64 totaled 68.4% (15.9 million); and adults 20 and older comprised 84.3% (19.6 million). 

Marriages dropped to roughly 104,000 couples, a crude rate of 4.5 per 1,000, down nearly 19,000 pairs from the previous year’s approximately 123,000. Divorces fell to roughly 52,000 couples, a rate of 2.2 per 1,000, down about 1,400 from 2024.