Page 30 - 2023 Taiwan Health and Welfare Report

02 2023 Taiwan Health and Welfare Report 02

Chapter 5 International Comparisons Section 3 Dependency Ratio
In terms of dependency ratio among the OECD
Section 1 Life Expectancy
member countries, Japan ranked top at 68 in 2022,
In Taiwan, life expectancy at birth in 2021 was followed by Israel at 66. Our dependency ratio was at
80.9 years. If ranked among the Organization for 42 and placed only higher than South Korea compared
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to other OECD member countries.
member states, Taiwan would have been 24th. In 2022, the old-age dependency ratio (population
Taiwan's life expectancy was lower than the OECD aged 65 and above / population aged 15-64 x 100)
median of 81.5 years. Male life expectancy at birth in in Taiwan was 25. If ranked among OECD member
OECD member states was higher in Switzerland at states, Taiwan would have been 29th. Taiwan's
81.8 years; in Taiwan, male life expectancy was 77.7 old-age dependency ratio was higher than that in
years. Female life expectancy at birth was highest in Luxembourg, Israel, Republic of Korea, Chile, Türkiye,
Japan at 87.6 years; in Taiwan, female life expectancy Iceland, Mexico, Ireland and Colombia. There was 1
was 84.3 years (Table 2-3). elderly person per 4 young and mid-year population

Section 2 Rate of Natural Increase in Taiwan. The aging index (population aged 65 and
above / population aged 0-14 x 100) of Taiwan was
The rate of natural increase in Taiwan in 2022
145. If ranked among OECD member states, Taiwan
was -2.93‰, ranking 25th among OECD member
would have been 8th. In comparison to OECD member
states and lower than the OECD median of 0‰. Due
states, the ratio of elderly people in Taiwan was not
to the recent tendency toward late marriage and
high, whereas its ratio of population aged 0-14 years
delayed childbearing, Taiwan's total fertility rate (the
old was slightly lower. As a result, the aging index of
average number of live births for a woman over her
Taiwan was higher than most OECD member states
lifetime) has been decreasing and reached 0.90 in
(Table 2-5).
2022, compared to other OECD members, Taiwan's
fertility rate is only higher than South Korea. This rate
in all OECD member states, excluding Israel was
lower than the replacement level of 2.1. For the same
period, Taiwan's crude birth rate was 6.0‰ and the
death rate was 8.9‰, ranking 34th and 21st among
OECD member states, respectively and lower than
the respective OECD medians of 10‰ and 10‰.
Generally, demographic structures in OECD member
states were trending toward low birth rates (Table 2-4).

28 29