TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) appeared before the Taipei City Council on Tuesday (Oct. 8) to deliver an administrative report and respond to questions such as the city’s declining population.

After Chiang took office, Taipei’s population briefly rose to more than 2.5 million residents in May 2023, though it steadily declined to 2,498,210 people at the end of September 2024. Chiang was asked what he has done to counter this trend and stabilize the city’s population.

Chiang said he introduced fertility incentives for young couples. He also worked to make Taipei family-friendly by allocating a proportion of public housing to young families.

Due to these measures, Chiang said the number of newborn children in Taipei has risen, bucking the downward trend experienced by other cities and counties, per UDN.

Chiang said the number of newborns in Taipei in 2023 increased by 1,500 compared to 2022. From January to September this year, there were 910 more newborns compared with the same period last year.

Chiang admitted that Taipei's overall population has declined, as many changed their residence to New Taipei and Keelung. He said this trend is partly due to convenient transportation, allowing people to live in surrounding municipalities while commuting to Taipei for work.

Chiang estimated that the daytime population in Taipei (including commuters) reaches 3.5 million, while the population in the evening drops to around 2.8 million people.

According to Chiang, this indicates Taipei is an attractive place for employment. Chiang believes that continued investments in creating a family and child-friendly environment will encourage young couples to stay.