For the first time ever, women in Taiwan outnumbered men, according to the 2010 statistics of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). As reported in NOWnews, there are now 99.6 males for every 100 females.
Taiwan’s resident population (excluding foreign industrial workers, domestic workers and care workers) is 11,480,000 males and 11,630,000 females, a total of 150,000 less men then women. This is the first time that women have outnumbered men. This phenomenon can be attributed to two factors – an increase in the number of immigrants, coupled with more Taiwanese men moving abroad. In the last ten years, the immigrant population in Taiwan has increased by 162,000, of which, 78 percent are women and mainly foreign spouses.
The population has also shifted. Today there are 3.58 million children and 2.44 million senior citizens in Taiwan. In the last 10 years, the number of children has fallen by 1,082,000, while the number of elderly people has increased by 558,000.
According to the DGBAS data for 25 to 29 year olds, there are 70 singles out of every 100. In the last 10 years, the number of single people has increased by 15.8 percent, while the number that have divorced or separated has increased by 1.1 times to 549,000. This is also reflected in the number of single-parent families, which increased by 50.2 percent to 562,000 families.
NOWnews reported that there is an ever expanding group who are remaining unmarried, accounting for 30 percent of Taiwan’s overall population by the end of 2010, or rather, over six million of those aged 15 and over. In the last 10 years, those who remained unmarried (aged 25 to 29) rose from 57.7 percent to 73.5 percent, an increase of nearly 15.8 percent. As for women between the ages of 30 and 34, those who are unmarried also increased from 27.8 percent to 41.1 percent, an increase of 13.3 percent.
In 2010, there were 1,054,000 divorced or separated people (ages 15 and older), accounting for five percent of the total population, an increase of almost 550,000, which has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
Yang Wen-shan, a researcher at Academia Sinica, pointed out that overall the data show more women than men in Taiwan, but stressed that this reflects the fact that there are more old women than old men. As reported in Awaking News Network, there are still more men than women in the marriageable age group. This is one reason why women are not married and men cannot find wives. Nowadays, Yang said, women spend more years studying and are more highly educated. Those women who are over 30 have greater expectations. They are unwilling to marry poor or less educated men, resulting in more late marriages or no marriage at all.
The United Daily News reported that Taiwan’s birth rate dropped from seven persons per 1,000 per year in 1951 to 0.9 persons in 2010, a historical low. Fortunately, it was lifted a little due to the centennial anniversary of the founding of the republic this year. There were 142,345 babies born during the first nine months of 2011. The upcoming dragon year, the most auspicious sign under the Chinese zodiac, should also result in a jump in the birth rate. It is estimated that 210,000 babies will be born in 2011, raising the birth rate to 1.2 persons per 1,000.