Latest statistics: Taiwan’s population continues to shrink, with an average of 2.33 people per household

China News Service, Taipei, November 10th. Statistics released by the Taiwan authorities’ internal affairs department on the 10th showed that as of the end of October 2026, Taiwan’s total population was 23.204 million, with negative growth for 34 consecutive months. During the same period, the number of registered households in Taiwan was approximately 9.939 million, a new high, with an average population of 2.33 people per household.

According to reports from the Central News Agency, China Times News Network, United News Network and other Taiwanese media, the number of birth registrations in Taiwan in October this year was 8,035, a decrease of 15.05% from the same period last year. This is the fourth consecutive month of a year-on-year decrease of more than 10%. More than 17,000 deaths were registered in Taiwan that month. As of the end of October this year, Taiwan’s population over 65 years old accounted for approximately 20.79% of the total population, and the population aged 0 to 14 accounted for approximately 11.18%. The elderly population has reached 1.86 times that of the young population.

The "Development Committee" of the Taiwan authorities pointed out that Taiwan's female population aged 20 to 49 has gradually decreased since reaching its peak in 2005, and the fertility rate of women of the same age group has also shown a downward trend, causing the overall childbearing population base to continue to shrink. Taiwan's "Wind Media" analyzed that because the population in prime childbearing age has decreased, even if the fertility rate rebounds in the future, the number of births may not immediately return to past levels.

In contrast to the continued shrinking of the population, the number of registered households in Taiwan continues to increase. Statistics show that as of the end of October this year, the number of registered households in Taiwan increased by approximately 99,000 compared with the same period last year.

According to previous statistics from the Household Affairs Management Department of the Taiwanese government, the average number of people per household in Taiwan fell below 3 people for the first time in 2009, and fell below 2.8 people in 2015. By the end of 2025, the average number of people per household in Taiwan will be 2.37. At the same time, the number of "one-person households" in household registration will be approximately 4 million, accounting for nearly 41% of the total number of households in Taiwan.

Taiwan's "World Magazine" analyzed that in addition to more and more elderly people not living with their children, late marriage, non-marriage and divorce have also accumulated more people living alone.

Liu Wei-gong, an associate professor at Soochow University in Taiwan, believes that technological factors are one of the important driving forces behind the formation of a "solitary society." Nowadays, as long as you have the Internet, you can socialize, work, and play, and the threshold for living alone is lower than before.