Taiwan births ‘to hit 10-year high’ in Year of Dragon
The number of newborns in Taiwan during the auspicious Year of the Dragon is expected to hit a 10-year high, the government said Monday, as the island looks to boost its low birth rate.
Vice Premier Jiang Yi-hua, chair of a government task force on population policy, forecast 230,000 births by the end of the year.
Taiwan’s birth rate hit a record low in 2010, plunging close to the bottom of the global rankings with 7.2 births per 1,000 people, a total of 166,886 newborns overall.
And until last year, when 196,627 babies were born, the rate had been falling continuously since 2000 – the last Year of the Dragon – amid growing concerns that a declining labour force could erode the economy.
A nurse inspects a newborn baby at a nursery in a hospital in Taipei in 2011. The number of newborns in Taiwan during the auspicious Year of the Dragon is expected to hit a 10-year high as the island looks to boost its low birth rate. (AFP)
The Year of the Dragon, which started on January 23, is considered the most auspicious year in the Chinese zodiac and a favourite birth sign for children, and fears remain that birth rates will drop again next year.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/taiwan-births-hit-10-high-dragon-182305816.html
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