Taiwan population pyramid 2026
23,011,292 people in 2026 (projected). Taiwan’s pyramid is widest at ages 40–49 and narrows to a base only a third as wide, the result of fertility that has stayed below one child per woman.
- 2026 population
- 23Mrank 61 of 237
- Median age
- 45.4 yearsoldest rank 21
- Fertility rate
- 0.86births per woman · below replacement
- Structure
- Older20.9% age 65+
Taiwan population pyramid
2026 · Share of total by five-year age group and sex
Hover over or tap a bar to see exact values.
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The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.
Taiwan age distribution in 2026
Children under 15 account for 11.3% of the population, while 20.9% are aged 65 or older. The remaining 67.8% are in the conventional working-age range of 15–64. On these shares, the site classifies Taiwan’s age structure as older; the guide to constrictive population pyramids explains what that shape implies.
The total age dependency ratio is 47.5: about 48 people under 15 or 65+ for every 100 people aged 15–64 (16.6 children and 30.9 older people). This is an age-balance indicator, not a literal count of economic dependants per worker.
What shapes Taiwan’s population pyramid
The post-1949 surge and its echo
The retreat of the Nationalist government to Taiwan in 1949 brought one to two million people from the mainland, a large share of them young men in the armed forces. Their imprint is clearest in the 1975 pyramid, where men outnumber women by a wide margin at ages 40–54, the cohorts born in 1921–35. At the same time births surged: fertility was above six children per woman in the early 1950s.
That surge is still visible in 2026. The 75–79 band, born in 1947–51, is much narrower than the 70–74 band, born in 1952–56; higher mortality at older ages contributes, but the step mainly marks the arrival of the large postwar cohorts, which now fill ages 60–74. Their children form the widest part of today’s pyramid: people born in 1977–86 are aged 40–49, and the 45–49 band is the broadest of all.
Ultra-low fertility and zodiac years
Fertility fell below replacement in the mid-1980s and below one child per woman around 2010, and it is about 0.86 in 2026, among the lowest fertility rates in the world. Each band under 40 is narrower than the one above it, with one exception: the 10–14 band, born in 2012–16, is wider than the 15–19 band, born in 2007–11. Births in Taiwan are known to cluster in Dragon years, such as 2012, and to dip in Tiger years, such as 2010, when the fertility rate fell to what was then a record low; the 2008–09 financial downturn also depressed births. Five-year bands blur these single-year swings, but not entirely. The general shape is described in constrictive population pyramids, and the China vs Taiwan comparison shows a larger neighbor following a similar path a little later.
Under the UN medium scenario Taiwan’s population falls from about 23.0 million in 2026 to about 19.4 million by 2050, when the 2050 pyramid is widest at ages 65–74 and the median age is about 56.
What to notice across the years
Distinctive cohorts and turning points
Comparing each five-year band with its neighbours picks out the cohorts that break a smooth slope. These irregularities usually record past surges or deficits in births, or migration concentrated at particular ages; the pattern alone does not identify which. The guide to baby booms and echo cohorts explains how to date and interpret them.
| Age band in 2026 | Born about | Feature | Versus neighbouring bands |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10–14 | 2012–2016 | Bulge (larger cohort) | +15% |
| 15–19 | 2007–2011 | Notch (smaller cohort) | −13% |
| 45–49 | 1977–1981 | Bulge (larger cohort) | +11% |
Deaths have exceeded births every year since 2019. People aged 65 and older came to outnumber children under 15 between 2015 and 2020.
Births, deaths, and migration
A pyramid changes in only three ways: births add to the base, deaths remove people at every age, and migration adds or removes people mainly in young adulthood. In 2026, Taiwan is projected to record 122,589 births (about 336 births a day) and 208,866 deaths, a natural decrease of 86,277. Net migration adds −15,041 people, ranking #142 in the net migration rate ranking.
Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates 4,792,638 births, 3,835,186 deaths, and cumulative net migration of +23,444. Over that period the balance of births and deaths moved the total more than migration did. See how migration shapes a pyramid and birth rate versus fertility rate. The medium scenario assumes net migration of +55,803 between 2026 and 2050.
Annual values 1950–2100; dashed lines after 2023 are the UN medium projection. The trend table below lists the values by decade.
Life expectancy and mortality
- Life expectancy, women
- 84.0 years58.8 in 1950
- Life expectancy, men
- 78.3 years54.4 in 1950
- Further years at 65
- 20.4 yearsboth sexes
- Infant mortality
- 2.9per 1,000 births · 60 in 1950
- Under-five mortality
- 4.1per 1,000 births
- Mother’s mean age at birth
- 32.3 yearssex ratio at birth 106.6
Women in Taiwan are projected to live 5.7 years longer than men, which is why the female side of the pyramid widens relative to the other at older ages (see the life expectancy gap ranking). Infant mortality has fallen from 60 to 2.9 deaths per 1,000 live births since 1950, ranking #203 of 237 in the infant mortality ranking (highest first). A mean age at childbearing of 32.3 years sets the spacing between generations, and so how far apart echo cohorts sit in the pyramid.
Median age, fertility rate, and global ranks for Taiwan
The median age of 45.4 years splits the population into two equal halves. A total fertility rate of 0.86 births per woman is below the replacement level of roughly 2.1, and life expectancy at birth is 81.1 years.
These ranks compare all 237 countries and areas in this dataset using the same 2026 UN medium projection. Ranks use the stored source precision, so displayed rounding can make adjacent values look identical; small differences should not be overinterpreted.
| Indicator | 2026 value | Global rank | Ranking direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 23,011,292 | #61 | Largest first |
| Median age | 45.4 years | #21 | Oldest first |
| Fertility rate | 0.86 | #233 | Highest first |
| Annual growth | -0.4% | #204 | Fastest first |
| Life expectancy | 81.1 years | #52 | Highest first |
| Population aged 65+ | 20.9% | #41 | Highest share first |
Largest age groups in Taiwan
The five largest cohorts identify where the 2026 population is concentrated. They can reflect past birth patterns, survival, and migration; the chart alone does not establish which cause dominates.
| Rank | Age group | Population | Share of total | Male / female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45–49 | 1,964,097 | 8.5% | 965.7K / 998.4K |
| 2 | 40–44 | 1,814,373 | 7.9% | 903.4K / 911K |
| 3 | 60–64 | 1,782,485 | 7.7% | 863.6K / 918.9K |
| 4 | 55–59 | 1,768,626 | 7.7% | 867.4K / 901.2K |
| 5 | 50–54 | 1,735,975 | 7.5% | 848.2K / 887.8K |
Sex ratio and the balance by age
In the 2026 projection, Taiwan has 11,370,090 males and 11,641,202 females. That is 97.7 males per 100 females, ranking #130 when the dataset is ordered from the highest male-to-female ratio to the lowest.
Males account for 49.4% of the population and females for 50.6%. There are 271,112 more females than males overall. Among people aged 65 and older, the ratio is 83.1 males per 100 females.
The overall balance can conceal large differences by age; how sex ratios change with age explains the usual pattern. The ratio reflects the male/female categories in the UN source and is not a measure of gender identity. Compare all profiles in the sex-ratio ranking.
At birth, 106.6 boys are projected to be born for every 100 girls in 2026, close to the biological norm of about 105 (compare the sex ratio at birth ranking). The ratio at birth sets the balance at the base of the pyramid; how it changes with age then depends on survival and migration.
How Taiwan has changed since 1950
The population has increased from 7,596,530 in 1950 to 23,011,292 in 2026, a change of 203%. Over the same span, median age moved from 17.7 to 45.4 years.
The under-15 share changed from 42.3% to 11.3%, while the share aged 65 and older changed from 2.1% to 20.9%. These shifts show why total population growth and age-structure change need to be read separately. See the Taiwan population pyramid in 1950 for the full starting shape.
How the population could change by 2050
Under the UN medium scenario, Taiwan’s population is projected to decline by about 16%, reaching 19,434,600 in 2050. The median age changes from 45.4 to 56.3 years.
The 65+ share is projected to rise by 17.8 percentage points to 38.7%. At the same time, the under-15 share is projected at 8.2%. The Taiwan population pyramid for 2050 shows the projected shape in detail. How UN projections work explains the assumptions behind these figures.
The annual UN series reaches its highest estimated population of 23,674,138 in 2019. Historical population totals are estimates rather than exact head counts. Compare timing across countries in the population peak ranking.
Population trend: 1950–2100
Mid-year population for every year. Estimates through 2023; dashed line shows the UN medium projection.
| Year | Population | Median age | Fertility | Life exp. | Births | Deaths | Net migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 7,596,530 | 17.7 | 6.48 | 56.6 | 341,603 | 80,094 | −5,334 | +3.4% |
| 1960 | 11,046,258 | 16.9 | 5.79 | 62.5 | 424,359 | 80,889 | +60,801 | +3.7% |
| 1970 | 14,815,744 | 17.7 | 3.98 | 69.0 | 387,464 | 69,506 | −39,483 | +1.9% |
| 1980 | 18,086,520 | 21.6 | 2.53 | 72.0 | 427,793 | 82,410 | −9,653 | +1.9% |
| 1990 | 20,594,906 | 26.1 | 1.79 | 73.9 | 339,915 | 104,419 | −62,876 | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 22,332,870 | 31.1 | 1.47 | 76.1 | 272,895 | 128,201 | −45,743 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 23,224,049 | 36.5 | 0.92 | 79.0 | 171,332 | 150,087 | +17,969 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 23,663,459 | 41.7 | 0.99 | 81.1 | 161,442 | 174,242 | −21,224 | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 23,317,145 | 43.5 | 0.87 | 80.6 | 132,404 | 205,339 | −32,777 | -0.5% |
| 2024* | 23,213,962 | 44.2 | 0.86 | 80.7 | 128,597 | 203,422 | −25,832 | -0.4% |
| 2026* | 23,011,292 | 45.4 | 0.86 | 81.1 | 122,589 | 208,866 | −15,041 | -0.4% |
| 2030* | 22,589,950 | 47.8 | 0.89 | 81.9 | 116,123 | 222,697 | −3,770 | -0.5% |
| 2040* | 21,257,134 | 53.0 | 1.00 | 83.5 | 106,172 | 271,640 | +6,967 | -0.8% |
| 2050* | 19,434,600 | 56.3 | 1.08 | 84.9 | 104,454 | 312,650 | +6,774 | -1.0% |
| 2060* | 17,302,547 | 58.1 | 1.14 | 86.2 | 83,938 | 316,061 | +6,229 | -1.3% |
| 2070* | 15,046,436 | 58.4 | 1.20 | 87.5 | 74,175 | 300,268 | +6,840 | -1.5% |
| 2080* | 12,986,209 | 59.6 | 1.25 | 88.6 | 72,466 | 264,638 | +6,316 | -1.4% |
| 2090* | 11,337,897 | 58.0 | 1.30 | 89.7 | 67,974 | 217,237 | +2,093 | -1.3% |
| 2100* | 10,016,994 | 56.8 | 1.33 | 90.9 | 58,046 | 181,646 | +3,309 | -1.2% |
* 2024 onward is the UN medium projection. Fertility is births per woman; life expectancy is years at birth; births, deaths, and net migration are counts for that calendar year.
Download every year, 1950–2100 (CSV)
2026 population by age and sex
The table provides the counts behind the chart. Age groups are five-year bands, with everyone aged 100 or older combined.
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 334,949 | 313,675 | 648,624 | 2.8% |
| 5–9 | 456,040 | 424,193 | 880,233 | 3.8% |
| 10–14 | 553,105 | 514,211 | 1,067,316 | 4.6% |
| 15–19 | 505,228 | 463,341 | 968,569 | 4.2% |
| 20–24 | 605,984 | 555,332 | 1,161,316 | 5.0% |
| 25–29 | 690,461 | 642,374 | 1,332,835 | 5.8% |
| 30–34 | 784,521 | 732,258 | 1,516,779 | 6.6% |
| 35–39 | 804,546 | 747,734 | 1,552,280 | 6.7% |
| 40–44 | 903,395 | 910,978 | 1,814,373 | 7.9% |
| 45–49 | 965,693 | 998,404 | 1,964,097 | 8.5% |
| 50–54 | 848,187 | 887,788 | 1,735,975 | 7.5% |
| 55–59 | 867,389 | 901,237 | 1,768,626 | 7.7% |
| 60–64 | 863,598 | 918,887 | 1,782,485 | 7.7% |
| 65–69 | 773,990 | 851,511 | 1,625,501 | 7.1% |
| 70–74 | 638,944 | 729,683 | 1,368,627 | 5.9% |
| 75–79 | 392,279 | 470,663 | 862,942 | 3.8% |
| 80–84 | 200,668 | 270,148 | 470,816 | 2.0% |
| 85–89 | 118,765 | 189,793 | 308,558 | 1.3% |
| 90–94 | 46,375 | 85,863 | 132,238 | 0.6% |
| 95–99 | 14,165 | 27,643 | 41,808 | 0.2% |
| 100+ | 1,808 | 5,484 | 7,292 | 0.0% |
Countries with the most similar age structure
These profiles have the 2026 age distributions closest to Taiwan’s, measured by the total difference in the share of the population in each five-year band. Similar shapes can arise from very different histories, so the match is a starting point for comparison, not an explanation.
- South Korea96% overlap · median age 46.2
- Andorra95% overlap · median age 44.2
- Hong Kong95% overlap · median age 47.9
- Bosnia and Herzegovina95% overlap · median age 46.1
- Jersey94% overlap · median age 43.9
- Bermuda94% overlap · median age 46.4
Compare Taiwan with other countries
Side-by-side pages put two pyramids on the same percentage scale, with a full indicator table and the projected change to 2050.
To calculate school-age, working-age, or older groups with other boundaries, use the age-group calculator for Taiwan.
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Charts and tables may be reused with attribution. Please link to this page and credit the United Nations as the data source.
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APA
World Population Pyramid. (2026, October 19). Taiwan Population Pyramid 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/taiwan/
MLA
“Taiwan Population Pyramid 2026.” World Population Pyramid, 19 Oct. 2026, worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/taiwan/.
Chicago
World Population Pyramid. “Taiwan Population Pyramid 2026.” Last modified October 19, 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/taiwan/.
Underlying data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Taiwan in 2026?
Under the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, Taiwan's population in 2026 is projected at 23,011,292.
What is the median age in Taiwan?
The projected median age in Taiwan in 2026 is 45.4 years: half the population is younger and half is older.
What is the fertility rate in Taiwan?
The projected total fertility rate in 2026 is 0.86 births per woman, below the replacement level of about 2.1 in low-mortality populations.
Is Taiwan's population projected to grow?
Between 2026 and 2050, the UN medium scenario indicates the population will decline by about 16%, from 23M to 19.4M.
What share of Taiwan is aged 65 or older?
In 2026, 20.9% of the projected population is aged 65 or older. By 2050, the medium scenario places the share at 38.7%.
How many babies are born in Taiwan each year?
The UN medium scenario projects 122,589 births and 208,866 deaths in 2026, about 336 births a day. Deaths exceed births by 86,277.
What is life expectancy in Taiwan for men and women?
Life expectancy at birth in 2026 is projected at 84.0 years for women and 78.3 years for men, a gap of 5.7 years in favour of women.
Does Taiwan have more immigrants or emigrants?
Taiwan is projected to lose about 15,041 more people through emigration than it gains in 2026. Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates cumulative net migration of +23,444.
What is the sex ratio in Taiwan?
The projected 2026 population sex ratio is 97.7 males per 100 females. This all-age ratio is different from the sex ratio at birth and can vary substantially by age.
Sources and notes
- United Nations, DESA, Population Division: World Population Prospects 2024, medium scenario.
- Population values are mid-year figures. Source values published in thousands are converted to people; displayed figures may imply more precision than is appropriate for planning.
- Historical values through 2023 are estimates. Values from 2024 onward are projections.
- Calculations follow the site methodology.