Taipei ranked as the city with the highest dependency ratio in Taiwan in 2022, reflecting the city’s ageing population, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of the Interior (MOI).

The dependency ratio compares the number of people in non-working age groups (0-14 and over 65) to the working-age population aged 15 to 64. A high ratio can reflect a surge in young children or a growing population of senior citizens.

In Taiwan, the ratio has risen steadily since 2012 as Taiwan’s population has aged, and reached 42.21 in 2022.

Of the country’s 22 cities and counties, Taipei had the highest dependency ratio at 50.35 (or two working adults in Taipei for every dependent) followed by Yunlin County at 44.31, Hsinchu City and Nantou County at 43.72 and Hualien County at 43.7, the MOI figures showed.

Taipei also had the highest old age dependency ratio — seniors 65 and over compared to the 15-64 population — in 2022 at 31.43, followed by Chiayi County at 31.12 and Yunlin County at 29.04, confirming that the capital city’s population is getting older.

The two cities and counties that are the relative youngest are Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County. Their child dependency ratios — the number of children aged 0-14 per 100 persons aged 15-64 — were the highest in Taiwan, at 23.38 and 22.27, respectively, according to the MOI.

Their relatively younger populations were also reflected in their ageing indexes — the number of people 65 and over per 100 people under 15 years old.

The Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City had the lowest ageing indexes in Taiwan at 86.71 and 87.03, respectively, while Chiayi County had the highest at 252.45, followed by Keelung City at 196.12 and then Kinmen County at 196.01, MOI figures showed.

Among Taiwan’s six big municipalities — Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — Taipei had the highest ageing index at 166.10 and Taoyuan had the lowest at 101.89.

The overall average ageing index for Taiwan was 144.93.

Taiwan is one of several countries in East Asia, along with Japan, South Korea, and China, that have low birth rates and fertility rates, promoting rapidly ageing populations.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel