Demographics ofTaiwan
Population pyramid ofTaiwan
Population	23,365,274 (April 2025)
Growth rate	0.04% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	5.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate	8.8 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Life expectancy	81.16 years
• male	78.17 years
• female	84.34 years
Fertility rate	0.85 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate	3.97 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	0.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	11.66%
15–64 years	68.86%
65 and over	19.48%
Sex ratio
Total	0.97 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.06 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.06 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.73 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Taiwanese
Major ethnic	Han Taiwanese (96.4%) Hoklo Taiwanese (N/D) Hakka Taiwanese [zh] (N/D) Others (N/D)
Minor ethnic	Indigenous Taiwanese (2.5%) New immigrant in Taiwan (1.1%)
Language
Official	Mandarin

The population ofTaiwan is approximately 23.36 million as of April 2025.^[1]

Immigration ofHan Chinese to thePenghu Islands started as early as the 13th century. The main island was inhabited by a diversity ofTaiwanese indigenous peoples speakingAustronesian languages until Han settlement began in the early 17th century, around the time of theMing–Qing transition, when workers were mainly imported fromMinnan region to the colony ofDutch Formosa in the southwest of Taiwan. According to governmental statistics, in the early 21st century, 95% to 97% of Taiwan's population are Han Taiwanese, while about 2.3% are Taiwanese of Austronesian ethnicity.^[2][3] Half the population are followers of one or a mixture of25 recognized religions.

During the 20th century, the population of Taiwan rose more than sevenfold, from about 3 million in 1905 to more than 22 million by 2001. This high growth was caused by a combination of factors, such as very high fertility rates up to the 1960s, and low mortality rates.^[4] In addition, there was a surge in population as theChinese Civil War ended and theKuomintang (KMT) forces retreated, bringing an influx of 1.2 million soldiers and civilians to Taiwan in 1948–1949, representing less than 15% of the population at the time (who constitute approximately 10% of the population in 2004^[5]).^[6][3][7] Consequently, the population growth rate after that was very rapid, especially in the late 1940s and 1950s, with an effective annual growth rate as high as 3.68% during 1951–1956.

Fertility rates decreased gradually thereafter; in 1984 the rate reached the replacement level (2.1 children per woman, which is needed to replace the existing population). Fertility rates have continued to decline. In 2010, Taiwan had a population growth of less than 0.2% and afertility rate of only 0.9, the lowest rate ever recorded in that country. The population of Taiwan peaked at 23.6 million in 2019 and has been continuously decreasing ever since, raising fears of anaging population.

Most Taiwanese speakMandarin. Around 70% of the people also speakTaiwanese Hokkien and 10% speakHakka.Japanese speakers are becoming rare as the elderly generation who lived underJapanese colonization are dying out. TheFormosan languages are endangered as theindigenous peoples have becomeacculturated under Chinese culture.

According to February 2022 statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, the population of Taiwan was 23,319,776, 99.6% of whom live on the island of Taiwan. The remaining 0.4% live on offshore islands (Penghu, Lanyu, Green, Kinmen, and Matsu).

Taiwan is ranked the58th most populous country in the world.

The number of Chinese people living on the island in 1624, prior toDutch colonial rule, was about 25,000.^[8] DuringDutch Formosa rule, between 1624 and 1662, the Dutch began to encourage large-scale Hanimmigration to the island for labour, mainly from the south ofFujian.

It is estimated that prior to theKingdom of Tungning (1661), the population of Taiwan was no greater than 100,000 people, and the initial Zheng army with families and retainers that settled in Taiwan is estimated to be 30,000 at minimum.^[9] DuringQing rule (1683–1895), the population of Han Taiwanese in Taiwan grew rapidly from 100,000 to ≈2.5 million, while the aboriginal population was estimated to be at least 200,000 by 1895.^[10] (The plains aboriginal population is estimated to have decreased by 90% over the hundred years from 1800 to 1900.)^[11]

The Japanese Colonial Government performed detailedcensuses every five years starting in 1905. Statistics showed a population growth rate of about 1% to 3% per year throughoutJapanese rule. In 1905, the population of Taiwan was roughly 3 million; by 1940, the population had grown to 5.87 million, and after the Second World War in 1946 it numbered 6.09 million.^[12] The Japanese colonial authorities discriminated against mixed Japanese-Taiwanese couples with marriages only being recognized if the Taiwanese party officially joined a Japanese household. This also meant that the children of these couples, including married ones, were consideredlegally illegitimate.^[13]

• Date:2019/07-08

• Source:Ministry of Internal Affairs, TaiwanArchived 2020-04-30 at theWayback Machine

Demographic transition models (DTM) show how population pyramids change and go through specific stages. By looking at Taiwan's population pyramid, the country is in stage 4 of the DTM and its shape contracts but it will soon enter stage 5.^[14] In stage 5 of the DTM, death rate gradually exceeds fertility rate and a country starts to experience overall population loss.^[15] Access to good medical care increases the lifespan of a population. Knowledge of and access to contraception, along with an increase in women's participation in the workforce, cause a sharp decline in the fertility rate.^[15]

National statistics of Taiwan in 2018 indicate that there are approximately 140,000 more females than males. The birth rate (8.3 births/1,000 population) is slightly higher than the death rate (7.4 deaths/1,000 population).^[16] The total dependency ratio in Taiwan is 35.2%, which is relatively low.^[17] The low dependency ratio indicates that the dependent part of the population is less than half of the working part. Experts estimate the dependency ratio will rise to 92.9% by 2060.^[18] A rising dependency ratio and longer life expectancy will most likely require the government to support part of the elderly population as the working-age population is shrinking and thus less able to support the elderly directly.

The process of population aging is primarily determined by fertility and mortality rate.^[19] The proportions of elderly people are different across countries. For example, developing countries with limited access to healthcare and contraceptives, where populations have a high fertility rate, tend to have a lower proportion of older people.^[20] Medical advancements, industrial developments, and better knowledge of sanitation, which started in the 18th century in many developed countries, have caused a decline in mortality rates and an increase in fertility rates, factors which raise the number of older people worldwide.^[21] According to the United Nations, many developed countries are in more advanced stages (4 or 5) of the demographic transition model and their number of elderly will remain high compared to less developed countries.^[22] This phenomenon is known as population aging.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), since 1993, Taiwan has reached the threshold of an aging society. It was estimated the percentage of people over 65 was 8%.^[23] The CEPD estimated that the percentage of people 65 years or older will be over 20% in 2025, which means Taiwan will soon become a "super aged society".^[24] The critical factors that accelerate the speed of aging in Taiwan are high life expectancy and low fertility rate. The average life expectancy in 2014 was 80 years. The total fertility rate in 2014 was 1.1 (per 1,000 women) and dropped to 0.87 in 2022.^[25]

According to a 2015 study by theMinistry of Health and Welfare, approximately 40% of Taiwan elders see themselves as a burden on family or society.^[26]

^[27][28]

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January–October 2024	109,803	169,030	-59,227
January–October 2025	90,839	168,047	-77,208
Difference	−18,964 (−17.27%)	-983 (-0.58%)	−17,981
Source:[30]

In developed countries, trends like late marriage, no marriage, and having fewer children are growing. Developed countries tend to have lower fertility rates because access to birth control and contraceptives are easier and having children could become an economic burden caused by housing, education cost, and other costs for childcare.^[31] Most women in developed countries are in the workforce and tend to have higher educations and professional careers. As a result, many women tend to have children late in life or no children at all.^[32]

According to the BBC, the total fertility rate in Taiwan had decreased to 0.9 children per woman in 2010.^[33] This figure is much lower than the replacement level and one of the lowest in the world. This indicates the population is experiencing negative growth and population aging is happening fast.^[24] According to a Central News Agency Report, total births in 2017 were below 200,000. Compared to previous decades, the total number of births since 2000 has been between 197,000 and 230,000.^[34] If this trend continues, the senior population in Taiwan will be almost 5 times higher than the youth population by 2060.^[35]

2023^[36]

City/County	TFR
New Taipei	0.67
Taipei	0.97
Taoyuan	1.06
Taichung	0.84
Tainan	0.76
Kaohsiung	0.88
Yilan County	0.83
Hsinchu	1.02
Miaoli	0.67
Changhua	1.16
Nantou	0.82
Yunlin	0.79
Chiayi County	0.79
Pingtung	0.85
Taitung	1.12
Hualien	0.92
Penghu	1.02
Keelung	0.59
Hsinchu County	0.90
Chiayi	0.69
Kinmen	0.67
Lienchiang	1.02

The fertility rate^[37][38] in Taiwan is one of the lowest ever recorded in the world in historical times. It reached its lowest level in 2023: 0.85 children per female. In 1980, the rate was still well above replacement level (2.515), but it dropped to 1.88 in 1985, 1.81 in 1990, 1.78 in 1995, 1.68 in 2000, 1.12 in 2005, 0.90 in 2010.

In 2022, Taiwan is ranked42nd in the world for highest life expectancy at birth.

total: 6.29 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

The ROC government reports that 95 to 97 percent of Taiwan's population is as "other populations" (ofHan Chinese ethnicity, which includesHoklo,Hakka, and other ethnic groups originating from mainland China).^[41][42] Over 2% of the population consists ofindigenous people.^[3] 21,000Westerners live in Taiwan, accounting for 0.1% of its total population.^[43]

The total population of recognized indigenous people in Taiwan is approximately 569,000, or approximately 2.38% of Taiwan's population.^[44] These groups primarily inhabit the eastern half of Taiwan, which consists mostly of mountainous terrain. Their population growth rate (1.2%) and population pyramid are considerably more youthful than the overall population.^[45] Including migrant workers, theAustronesian population of Taiwan is approaching 1 million.^[46]

Note: Source data obtained from theMinistry of the Interior website (Spreadsheet data: m1-04.xlsArchived 2017-06-20 at theWayback Machine)

The Taiwanese government officially recognizes sixteen ethnic groups ofTaiwanese indigenous peoples (Chinese:原住民;pinyin:yuánzhùmín;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Gôan-chū-bîn).^[47] In the early 1910s, research in theJapanese era recognized nine ethnic groups:Amis,Atayal,Bunun,Paiwan,Puyuma,Rukai,Saisiyat,Tsou, andYami. After the 2000s, indigenous cultural revitalization movements forced the government to change its attitude towards the indigenous people of Taiwan. TheYami people were renamed to Tao. New ethnic groups were also recognized by the government, includingThao in 2001,Kavalan in 2002,Truku (Taroko) in 2004,Sakizaya in 2007,Seediq in 2008,Kanakanavu in 2014, andSaaroa in 2014. There are at least another dozen groups that are not officially recognized by the government.

Unrecognized indigenous groups may include extinct tribes (mostlyPlains indigenous peoples) or communities currently classified with other groups. There are also 25,943 indigenous people who are currently not classified in any group.

The majority of Han Taiwanese descend from immigrants who arrived to the island prior to Japanese rule (1895–1945) and can be classified as theHoklo andHakka, on the basis of language and customs.^[50] As the majority of early immigrants wereHokkien speakers fromFujian^[51] who arrived starting in the 17th century, the Hoklos account for about 70% of the total population today. DuringQing rule, a large number of Hoklo men tookindigenous brides.^[52] Some of the plains aboriginals also adopted Chinese customs and language so as to be indistinguishable from the Han.^[53] Thus, many who categorize themselves as Han have some degree of indigenous ancestry.

A significant minority of Han Taiwanese are Hakka, and they constitute about 15% of the total population. The Hakkas emigrated chiefly from easternGuangdong, speakHakka Chinese, and originally took up residence in the hills of the indigenous border districts.^[54][52]

Waishengren form another significant mixed ethnic group in Taiwan. The term refers to migrants who moved from China to Taiwan between 1945, when the ROC took control of Taiwan from theJapanese empire, and 1949 during the relocation of the ROC from mainland China to Taiwan. Estimates vary regarding how manywaishengren migrated, with most estimates ranging between 950,000 and 2 million,^[55] with 1.2 million being the most commonly cited figure in Taiwan,^[56] which would have constituted less than 15% of the population at the time (who constitute approximately 10% of the population in 2004^[5]).^[7]

There are 812,603 foreign residents in Taiwan as of April 2023, representing 3.48% of the country's population.^[57][58][1]

Nationality	2024 (Dec.)[59]	2023 (Dec.)[60]	2022 (Sep.)[61]	2021 (Sep.)[62]	2019	% in 2023
Indonesia	317,559	278,991	234,329	254,403	255,770	33.15%
Vietnam	289,232	255,627	234,100	247,817	224,108	30.37%
Philippines	166,916	151,198	154,075	156,996	152,179	17.96%
Thailand	83,037	77,114	72,061	67,308	64,381	9.16%
Malaysia	24,118	24,323	23,749	22,819	20,549	2.89%
Japan	13,494	14,136	15,956	16,160	13,768	1.68%
United States	10,173	11,288	11,462	12,847	9,979
India	5,924	5,320	4,671	4,695	3,748	0.63%
South Korea	4,776	4,820	4,843	5,132	4,481	0.57%
Myanmar	5,743	4,217	2,611	1,852	1,671	0.50%
United Kingdom	2,615	2,559	2,989	2,961	2,097	0.30%
Canada	2,528	2,528	2,579	2,737	2,167	0.30%
Singapore		1,863	1,766	1,726	1,456	0.22%
France		1,673	1,841	1,790	1,553	0.20%
South Africa		1,545	1,539	1,416	1,207	0.18%
Germany		1,135	1,271	1,224	965	0.13%
Australia		937	985	1,051	838	0.11%
Russia		787	680	663	578	0.09%
Eswatini		642	412		363	0.08%
Mongolia		560	500	684	1,126	0.07%
Cambodia		543	359		164	0.06%
Italy		522	523	579	489	0.06%
Pakistan		498	297		186	0.06%
Paraguay		419	328		176	0.05%
Spain		411	492	473	390	0.05%
Belize		384	334		181	0.05%
Netherlands		383	531	512	346	0.05%
Turkey		328	284	311	279	0.04%
New Zealand		296	328	352	313	0.04%
Portugal		296	300	312	217	0.04%
Brazil		292	259	261	307	0.03%
Poland		291	311	285	217	0.03%
Honduras		269	374		288	0.03%
Ukraine		263	214	230	245	0.03%
Mexico		259	229	226	196	0.03%
Ethiopia		215	164		181	0.03%
Guatemala		213	199		138	0.03%
Belgium		205	254	302	198	0.02%
Saint Lucia		204	170		102	0.02%
Iran		189	163		118	0.02%
Haiti		185	158		148	0.02%
Ireland		178	216		165	0.02%
Nepal		167	164		159	0.02%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines		167	140		104	0.02%
Switzerland		167	181	219	168	0.02%
Egypt		158	157		87	0.02%
Sweden		158	152		125	0.02%
Israel		155	151		105	0.02%
stateless		143				0.02%
Nigeria		139	116		81	0.02%
Colombia		135	128		106	0.02%
Austria		128	126		117	0.02%
Nicaragua		127	141		183	0.02%
Bangladesh		110	94		62
Kyrgyzstan		106	61		45
Sri Lanka		106	109		95
Denmark		104	284		147
Czech Republic		103	92		101
Gambia		101	100		122
Saint Kitts and Nevis		96	96		73
Jordan		95	95		80
Peru		92	104		85
Tanzania		84	64
Hungary		83	86		79
Malawi		80	54		60
Belarus		77	78		65
El Salvador		74	90		125
Venezuela		72	81		88
Argentina		63	61		57
Uganda		62	43		19
Laos		60	54		41
Chile		59	65		48
Palau		55	66		48
Romania		54	63
Burkina Faso		53	55		65
Kenya		52	41		32
Uzbekistan		50	46		38
Ecuador		45	42		42
Morocco		45	33		30
Marshall Islands		44	52		43
Tuvalu		42	34		30
Slovakia		41	48		41
Panama		40	52		83
Burundi		39	29		15
Kazakhstan		38	25		22
Finland		34	43		37
Norway		34	28		28
Lithuania		33	41
Nauru		33	31		24
Greece		32	29		25
Croatia		31	39		31
Serbia		31	28		21
Ghana		30	30		28
Yemen		29	16		11
Costa Rica		26	18		17
Bulgaria		25	24		18
Papua New Guinea		25	32		27
Zimbabwe		25	16		17
Dominican Republic		23	27		43
Latvia		23	35		17
Mauritius		22	27		23
Bolivia		20	22		15
North Macedonia		18	17		14
Slovenia		17	16		23
Armenia		16	13		21
Fiji		16	13		8
Solomon Islands		16	15		88
Brunei		15	14		21
Lesotho		15	7		4
Mozambique		15	4		6
Palestine		15	11		6
Lebanon		14	17		9
Zambia		14	8		6
Democratic Republic of the Congo		13	6		6
Senegal		13	6		4
Bhutan		12	10		7
Tunisia		12	11		11
Turkmenistan		12	13		13
Estonia		10	8		11
Jamaica		10	8		5
Syria		10	10		9
Uruguay		10	12		13
Algeria		9	8		9
Republic of the Congo		8	13		10
Tajikistan		8	5		6
Botswana		7	5		5
Cameroon		7	7		8
Chad		7	6		6
Kiribati		7	4		85
Iceland		6	8		3
Albania		5	5		2
Moldova		5	4		9
Namibia		5	6		7
Sierra Leone		5	3		6
Timor-Leste		5	4		4
Togo		5	3		2
Tonga		5	4		6
Azerbaijan		4	3		3
Benin		4	5		2
Cuba		4	2		5
Georgia		4	6		9
Guinea		4	1		3
Rwanda		4	2		3
Sudan		4	4		7
Trinidad and Tobago		4	6		4
Bahamas		3	1
Bahrain		3	2		2
Cyprus		3	5		2
Guyana		3	3
Ivory Coast		3	4		4
Libya		3	2		4
Luxembourg		3	8
Madagascar		3	1		2
Maldives		3	3		2
Malta		3	2		2
Niger		3	3		4
Samoa		3	2
Saudi Arabia		3	2		3
Gabon		2	1		1
Grenada		2	1
Guinea-Bissau		2	2		1
Mali		2	2		3
Oman		2	3		4
São Tomé and Príncipe		2			3
Suriname		2	2		1
Vanuatu		2	2		1
Afghanistan		1	2		1
Barbados		1	1		1
Bosnia and Herzegovina		1	1
Dominica		1	3		1
Federated States of Micronesia		1	1		1
Liberia		1
Liechtenstein		1
Mauritania		1
Seychelles		1	1		1
United Arab Emirates		1	1
Angola		0			1
Bermuda		0			1
Cape Verde		0			1
Djibouti		0	1
Iraq		0	19		17
Kuwait		0	1
Somalia		0			2
Total	948,066	841,627	783,662		772,281	100.0%
Source:National Immigration Agency,Ministry of the Interior[63]

DuringJapanese rule (between 1895 and 1945),Japanese was the medium of instruction and could be fluently spoken by many of those educated during that period. Almost everyone in Taiwan born after the early 1950s can speakMandarin,^[64] which was the official language and has been the medium of instruction in schools ever since.

Hanyu Pinyin, the official romanization system in mainland China, has also been the standard of Taiwan since 2009. A number of romanization systems are still seen in Taiwan, includingTongyong, the official romanization in Taiwan between 2002 and 2008,Wade–Giles, often found on passports, andPostal.

Other Sinitic languages can also be seen in Taiwan. The majority speakTaiwanese Hokkien, a branch ofSouthern Min, which had formerly been the most commonly spoken language. OnMatsu Islands, theEastern MinFuzhou dialect is prevalent. Although people onKinmen (Quemoy) also speakSouthern Min, it is not the case in theWuqiu Islands, for they speak a dialect of thePu-Xian Min. The ethnic Hakka speak variousTaiwanese Hakka dialects includingSixian,Hailu, Dabu,Raoping, and Zhao'an.

The most widely spokenFormosan languages today areAmis,Atayal,Bunun, andPaiwan. The other aboriginal languages that have gained official recognition areKanakanavu,Kavalan,Puyuma,Rukai,Hla’alua,Saisiyat,Sakizaya,Seediq (closely related toTruku),Thao,Tsou, andYami (also known asTao).

Article 13 of theConstitution of the Republic of China guarantees freedom of religion as a right of all its citizens. As of 2013^[update], the Republic of China government recognizes 27 religions which are registered with the Civil Affairs Department of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI).^[66]

About 81.3% of the population can be considered religious believers, most of whom identify asBuddhists (35%) orTaoists (33%).Chinese folk religion is generally practised under the aegis of Taoism, while more than 10% of the population adheres topopular movements of salvation.Confucianism also is an honored school of thought and ethical codes.Christian churches have been active in Taiwan for centuries; a majority of them areProtestant, withPresbyterians playing a particularly significant role. The Republic of China's government has diplomatic relations with theHoly See, which is the only European nation to formally recognize the Republic of China and is its longest-lasting diplomatic ally, having established relations in 1942.Islam has seen a surge in recent years as a result of foreign Muslims seeking work in Taiwan, most notably fromIndonesia. There is also a small group ofShinto followers under theTenriist sect, which was introduced in the 1970s.

The table below shows official statistics on religion issued by the Department of Civil Affairs, Ministry of the Interior ("MOI"), in 2005. The Taiwanese government recognises 26 religions in Taiwan.^[67] The statistics are reported by the various religious organisations to the MOI:^[67][68]

The figures forThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not from theMOI, rather they are based on self-reported data from LDS Newsroom.^[69] The figures forJehovah's Witnesses are not from the MOI either, they are based on the Witnesses' own 2007 Service Year Report.^[70] In the original report, both of them were counted as part of Protestantism.^[67]

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The Republic of China has acompulsory military draft for males aged 19–35 years of age with a service obligation of 4 months (2018). This was extended(returned) to one year starting in 2024.

Defined as 19–49 years of age.

Of the available population, the following are fit for military service. Defined as 19–49 years of age.

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