Single-person households surpass 40% for first timeBy Kao Chia-ho and Esme Yeh / Staff reportersOne-person households accounted for more than 40 percent of all registered households for the first time last year, while three-generation family households fell below 10 percent, Ministry of the Interior data showed, suggesting that Taiwanese society appears to be growing increasingly “lonely” as the nation’s birthrate continues to decline amid the “silver tsunami.”Of the 9.85 million registered households in Taiwan last year, 3.99 million were one-person residences, surpassing 40 percent for the first time, the data showed. Penghu County’s one-person households account for 44.41 percent of all households in the county, the highest nationwide, followed by Keelung at 44.31 percent and Yilan County at 43.52 percent, it showed. New Taipei City has the most number of single-person households among the administrative areas, totaling 758,000, or 42.43 percent of all households in the city, it showed. Although it is lower than Penghu County’s percentage, those households still represent a tough challenge for social welfare and lonely aging in New Taipei City, the data showed. However, the situation changed last year due to population aging and low birthrates, with the county’s aging index reaching 101.88 percent and the city’s surging to 106.59 percent, it showed.

Source: Taipei Times February 28, 2026 16:04 UTC