TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Interior announced that based on household registration statistics, Taiwan's total population at the end of August was 23.4 million, a decrease of 2,715 from July, with the population continuing to decline for eight consecutive months.

The number of births in August was 11,643, with one baby born approximately every 3.8 minutes. This is the equivalent of an annual crude birth rate of 5.87 babies per 1,000 population.

Household registration data indicated that the number of births around Taiwan was not evenly distributed. The county with the highest crude birth rate was Yunlin County at 12.44, followed by Taitung County at 7.62, and Hsinchu at 7.38. The lowest crude birth rates were New Taipei at 3.93, Chiayi at 4, and Keelung at 4.18, per UDN.

As for the number of deaths in August, the total was 16,830, with an average of one death every 2.7 minutes. This is the equivalent annual crude death rate of 8.49 per 1,000 people. 

The highest crude mortality rate was 12.83 in Pingtung County, followed by Chiayi County at 12.62, and Penghu County at 12.39. The lowest crude death rates were Taoyuan at 6.73 and Hsinchu at 5.68.

The natural increase in population is calculated by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births. Using this calculation, Taiwan's natural population decreased by 5,187 in August. When accounting for immigration, the population decline was 2,715 people.

Meanwhile, 5,067 couples got married in August, including 187 same-sex couples. The annual crude marriage rate is 2.56 per 1,000 people, which was a low for the year. As for divorce, this affected 4,723 couples in August, including 72 same-sex couples, equivalent to an annual crude divorce rate of 2.38 per 1,000 people.