The Causes of Low Birth Rate in Taiwan
Many news sources, including BBC (2011) and CNN (2010), have reported that Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rate among all countries. The rate of natural increase (RNI) in demography is the subtraction of birth rate and death rate. Back in 1981, Taiwan’s RNI is 18.13, meaning that Taiwan’s population increased by 18.13‰. But in 2019, the number has dropped to 0.06‰. The population is barely increasing and not far from decreasing. What caused such situation? Because of several economic and social reasons, Taiwan has become a place where people are not willing to raise kids.
First, the high competitiveness in Taiwan’s economic environment is one of the economic reasons for low birth rate. According to a report by Central Bank of the Republic of China, because the advancement of technology lets to many basic level laborers be replaced by machines and globalization allows companies to set up their factories in other nations and hire cheaper laborers, there are now less job openings and employers want employees with higher educational level. Consequently, many people would choose to invest more on themselves, such as getting a high educational degree and commit more to their career, in order not to be replaced. Thus, forming a new family and raising children are put on hold.
Meanwhile, the real wage in Taiwan has been almost the same for many years is another economic problem. Real wage is the number that considers both people's salary and the price of the things we buy. It can reflect people’s ability to purchase things. According to the statistics from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, R.O.C. (Taiwan) (2020), the average real wage stopped increasing since 2003 and only until recent years that it started to grow again but hasn’t recovered from the decrease. Combining this with the last paragraph, it is certain to say that the people in Taiwan are making more effort to make a living while the money we earn doesn’t allow us to live an easier life. As a result, it has made it more difficult for Taiwanese people to have babies.
A chart from Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics. It shows the statistics of real wage each year.
A chart from Central Bank's report. It shows the growth of productivity and real wage over the years.
Another reason of low birth rate in Taiwan is the rise of feminism and the issue of gender equality. Nowadays, women can make their own decisions between work and family. Of course, a woman can always choose to be a mother and stay at home. Or she can have a job, make a living for herself and not have a baby. Even a children-loving woman can choose not to conceive a child because she doesn’t want to go through the painful labor of parenthood. Also, the society is now accepting the idea of childless working women. Dr. Catherine Hakim, a British sociologist, says, ‘The whole idea of the childfree lifestyle is beginning to be recognized by the media. Private feelings are being legitimized and people are beginning to feel that they are not being deviant in some way.’ Therefore, women now are able to not follow the social role as a mother and decide for her own.
With that being said, Taiwan is not the only place with the problem of low birth rate. Many other developed countries also face the same issue. Economically, people are becoming busier while their overall ability as consumers has remained the same. Socially, some women choose to not have children and it has become one of the factors. All these reasons have caused many people unwilling or unable to have kids. While some people consider it to be a serious issue, I find it natural considering the causes. If the entire society doesn’t make some powerful changes, the situation will only continue to get worse.
References
BBC. (August 2011). Declining birth rate in Taiwan raises economic concerns. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/av/14726730/declining-birth-rate-in-taiwan-raises-economic-concerns
CNN. (August 2010). 20 baby-making slogans for Taiwan. Retrieved from http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/life/20-taiwanese-baby-making-slogans-457841/
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, R.O.C. (Taiwan). (February 2020). 出生數、出生率、死亡數、死亡率
Retrieved from https://www.stat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=15409&CtNode=3622&mp=4
Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan). 七、勞動市場薪資成長停滯與市場失靈問題. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.gov.tw/tw/dl-21486-3fc02d57c1bb49e4b119f94230f8e204.html
McDonald, P. (March 2008). Very Low Fertility Consequences, Causes and Policy Approaches. Retrieved from http://www.ipss.go.jp/webj-ad/WebJournal.files/Population/2008_4/02mcdonald.pdf
Essays, UK. (November 2018). Causes of Low Birth Rates. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/society/causes-low-birth-rates-5838.php?vref=1
Becker, G. (August 2013). Low Birth Rates: Causes, Consequences, and Remedies-Becker. Retrieved from https://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2013/08/low-birth-rates-causes-consequences-and-remedies-becker.html