Taiwan’s Life Expectancy Rises in 2025, with Taipei Leading the Nation
Taiwan’s average life expectancy climbed to 81.27 years last year, up from 80.77 a year earlier, according to official data released by the Ministry of the Interior. Women outlived men by nearly seven years, while Taipei recorded the longest average at 83.98 years, driven by post-pandemic declines in mortality rates.
National Longevity Trends and Post-Pandemic Mortality Declines
The latest demographic data published by the Ministry of the Interior shows a steady rebound in national longevity. Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 81.27 years remains well above the global average of 73.5 years. Government statisticians attribute part of this positive trajectory to a consecutive three-year drop in overall fatalities as the acute impact of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes.
The total number of deaths last year fell by 1,674 from the previous year down to 199,639. Senior citizens aged 65 or older accounted for 151,936 of those deaths, representing roughly 76.1 percent of the national total. Meanwhile, the average crude death rate slid by 0.005 percentage points to reach 0.885 percent.
Despite these gains, national figures have not yet fully returned to the pre-COVID-19 peak of 81.32 recorded in 2020. Gender divergence remains a notable feature of the dataset. Women saw their average life expectancy rise by 0.45 years to 84.75, effectively returning to their 2020 peak of 84.74. Men experienced a 0.51-year increase to 77.93, which still trails the 2020 male peak of 78.11. Both figures comfortably exceed international norms, where the global averages stand at 76.2 years for women and 70.9 years for men.
Regional Disparities: Taipei Leads While Taitung Reports Lower Averages
Geographical distribution reveals stark contrasts across administrative jurisdictions. Taipei secured the highest average life expectancy nationwide, pushing its average up from 83.4 years in 2024 to 83.98 years last year. Hsinchu City followed closely at 82.13 years, with New Taipei City rounding out the top tiers at 81.54 years.
Breaking down the capital’s numbers, Taipei women reached an average life expectancy of 86.74 years—surpassing Hsinchu City’s female average of 85.2 years. Taipei men similarly led the country at 81.1 years, ahead of Hsinchu City’s male average of 79.1 years.
At the other end of the spectrum, Taitung County reported the lowest average life expectancy in Taiwan at 76.49 years. It stood as the only administrative area in the country with a composite figure falling below 77 years. Taitung recorded 81.54 years for women and 72.3 years for men. Ministry officials noted that the latest statistics about individual administrative areas excluded Kinmen County due to a significant population outflow, alongside Lienchiang County.
Municipal Infrastructure and Long-Term Planning Challenges
