TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — More people died in Taiwan in each of the first 10 months of 2021 than were born, according to the latest Ministry of the Interior (MOI) statistics.

Deaths began exceeding births in the country for the first time last year, and the trend has continued uninterrupted, CNA reported. The MOI data show that there were 23,413, 879 Taiwanese in the country as of the end of October, which was 152,592 fewer year over year and 17,069 fewer than the end of September.

In October, 13,166 babies were born — 865 fewer than October 2020. In the first 10 months of this year, there were a total of 125,636 births, 7,410 fewer compared to the same period last year, the statistics show.

By contrast, 14,415 Taiwanese died in October, an increase of 873 deaths compared to October 2020.

In total, there were 152,433 deaths in the first 10 months of this year, up 8,626 deaths year over year.