TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan continues to face a declining birth rate, with the number of newborns decreasing by more than 1,000 in the first five months of 2023, compared to the same period last year, per UDN.

Taiwan’s shrinking population is exacerbated by a rising infant mortality rate which reached a 14-year high with 4.4 deaths per 1,000 births in 2022, an increase from 4.1 deaths in 2021, and 3.6 in 2020.

Additionally, the neonatal mortality rate (under one month) was the highest in the past 15 years at 2.8 deaths per 1,000 in 2022, an increase from 2.7 in 2021, and 2.4 in 2020.

To address the issue of increasing infant and neonatal mortality, a Consensus Meeting for the Reduction of Neonatal Mortality symposium was held in Taiwan on Sunday (July 2). The symposium identified three major causes of infant deaths: genetic disorders, premature births, and accidents.

Children's Health Alliance Taiwan President Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) expressed concern about Taiwan’s low birth rate as well as its infant and neonatal mortality rate, which is higher than that of Japan (0.8% neonatal, 1.8% infant) and South Korea (1.3% neonatal, 2.5% infant).

Lin said that no government unit has taken responsibility for seeking improvements in both of these areas. These two trends led Taiwan’s medical community to advocate for more government resources, including an ad-hoc investigation committee and the creation of a database tracking infant and neonatal mortality.