Despite increase in IVF births, Taiwan’s birth rate continues to fall

Like many countries across the globe, Taiwan is battling a low birth rate and is trying to incentivize its citizens to have more babies. In Taiwan, this includes subsidizing in vitro fertilization (IVF), which seems to have resulted in an increasing number of children born through IVF. However, it’s still not enough to keep the birth rate from falling.

The Taipei Times reported that 8,165 couples gave birth to 9,034 babies in 2024 using IVF subsidized by the Health Promotion Administration (HPA). This is an increase from the years prior, and is, in fact, the highest number of babies born through the subsidy program since it was implemented in 2021. Couples in Taiwan can qualify for the subsidy if their marriage is registered in Taiwan, the wife is younger than 45, one of the spouses is a Taiwanese citizen, and a doctor finds they would “benefit” from IVF. Numerous couples have even used the program to have multiple children.

However, the country’s birth rate is still devastatingly low.

READ: China introduces new initiatives to boost birth rate… but critics are skeptical

Taiwan saw its population fall to its lowest figures yet in 2024, despite a brief increase in 2023. Instead of continuing to grow, the population fell by approximately 20,000 in 2024, and the number of births recorded — 134,856 — is the lowest figure since the government began keeping records of them.

Meanwhile, the country recorded 202,107 deaths. Fewer couples are also getting married, and Taiwan is incredibly close to becoming a “super-aged society,” which is when 20% of more of the population is aged 65 or older. In Taiwan, people aged 65 or older make up 19% of the population, with the National Development Council predicting that Taiwan will see its elderly population rise to above 40% and become one of the world’s oldest nations by 2060.

This is not a problem unique to Taiwan; numerous East Asian countries are having the same problem, and numerous countries, like Taiwan, have tried to boost birth rates. China, Japan, and South Korea have all put government incentives in place in hopes of encouraging the populace to have more children, but those efforts have overwhelmingly failed.

The Population Division of the UN Department of Economic Social Affairs has projected that, between 2020 and 2050, the populations of China, Japan, and South Korea will all shrink.