Taiwan’s fertility rate hit an all time low of 0.89 this year. It’s one of the lowest in the world. Taiwan’s government predicts this trend will continue through the next decade.
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This is a 50-year old children’s clothing shop in Taipei’s Wanhua District. The owner says business used to be great but now it’s bad. She says, “See, there are no customers.” She said in the past, some moms would bring five or six children with them, but there aren’t as many large families like that today.
Taiwan has tried to convince parents to have more children by giving childcare subsidies, but it hasn’t made a difference. In 2015, Taiwan’s fertility rate was 0.9, the lowest in the world. In 2020, South Korea’s fertility rate was 0.84 and Taiwan’s was 0.99. The National Development Council predicts in 2035 Taiwan’s fertility rate will be 1.12 and South Korea’s 1.18.
Taiwan is also an aging society. This means there will be a lot of challenges ahead.
So why aren’t incentives like subsidies working in Taiwan? NTU National Development Professor Hseuh Chen-tai says many people think children will affect their career and life plans. So children are seen more as a burden than a source of hope.
That individualistic mentality is one of the main reasons people in Taiwan aren’t having babies. If this attitude becomes more prevalent, Taiwan may be stuck with the world’s lowest fertility rate.