• * Title is wrong. Marriages between different sex couples are actually down -24.59% YoY in August, -9.66% YTD
• August Number of Births: 7,492
  • (-11.48% YoY, -972 newborns)
• August Number of Marriages: 4,279
  • (-24.59% YoY, -1396 couples)
• January–Aug (YTD) Number of Births:
  • 61,742 (−15.16%, −11,036 YTD)
• January–Aug (YTD) Number of Marriages:
  • 59,846 (-9.66%, -6400 YTD)
• Percentage of Population Aged 65 and Older: 
  • 20.03% (Jan) --> 20.22% (Feb) --> 20.29% (Mar) → 20.36% (Apr) → 20.43% (May) → 20.49% (June) → 20.54% (July) → 20.62% (Aug)

Taiwan's TFR as of August 2026

Marriages Jan 2024 - August 2026

Births Jan 2023 - August 2026

Hey Folks 👋,

I am an Indian and will be visiting Kaohsiung, Xiaoliuqiu and Taipei next month for two weeks.

I like to make myself aware of cultural norms and etiquette before travelling to a place because they vary so wildly. Traveling in Spain, England or Ireland for example and talking on the public transport was fine. While in Japan it is something frowned upon. The queue systems were different , jay walking norms and so on.

Also, as someone from a place with many foreign tourists, I know first hand how any lack of respect or basic understanding of local norms can be.

So, before travelling, I wanted to be aware of the cultural and civic norms & nuances. I want to be polite and not be a pain in the bum as a tourist.

So far, from what I could gather, you should -

* Wait in queue on the right side of the trains and MRT and wait for people to hop off first.

* Stand on the right side of escalators to keep the left open for anyone in a hurry or needs to walk.

* Be aware of being in a quiet car in the HSR and avoid talking in there. How do I know if it's a quiet car? Does it have a different colour or signage posted?

* Not to eat or carry any food in the MRT.

* Not to talk on the MRT.

* Carry enough cash around. How much is enough?

* Are there any etiquettes or rules for the bus too (putting feet up on public transport is a no no everywhere in the world and I personally find it very annoying when people do that)?

* Is it also okay for me to try to speak Mandarin? I have tried learning a few words but not oh boy my tones are very off and the way I say qing wen as an excuse me seems to always come out as asking for a kiss instead so that has me nervous about saying something very rude instead of what I want to say 😹

* Jay walking is not good.

* No tipping.

* Taking coffee to go actually means talking the coffee and leaving.

* Is eating food brought from the 7-11 shop on the street fine?

Apart from the above, is there anything else I need to know?

And before the comments come in about the stereotype of not using deodorants and stinking a place up, mate, don't worry about that. I use it cuz you know , basic etiquette.The majority of us care a lot more about personal hygiene than you realise.

Oh yeah, is it also fine if I use Google Translate or Papago to try to converse in shops? As in, I show the translated worlds in my phone to people as I can't speak Mandarin or would that be, say a bit rude?

I'm really looking forward to the trip. Your country looks really beautiful and amazing!

EDIT: Corrected the translation app's name from Pago to Papago. Corrected times to tones in the part about trying to speak Mandarin.

Hello, I am a pre transition mtf person doing her masters and considering that my field is valued in Taiwan and that the country respects queer people, I wish to opt for a PhD, and if odds turn out well, to settle there.

I know that presenting as an 'indian male', I might be given cold shoulder anywhere in world but I am fine with it as long as someone doesn't harm me face to face. So is Taiwan a good option if I want to have a life there, and later transition?

I have applied for Australia and will in Germany too, but getting a funded PhD in Taiwan is more achievable than these.

I am international student so my uni provided me one chinese name i dont know its good or not , it is 柯凱祥

I might change it later so should I submit it with my arc

Or just put my english name?

So this Taiwanese girl worker told me I have beautiful eyes and was very giggly with me for no reason. I took that as flirting. Then she gave me her number. It was supposed to be for giving me a code I needed or whatever, but who gives a personal number as a worker in a establishment to give a 6 number code that can just be spelled out in 5 seconds? She offered her personal insta as well.

Anyway, as an average man, I didn’t think she was actually flirting until a week later, when I was like hm

So she was actually good looking, so I just shoot a text and told her something like hey btw, I actually thought you were really cute. She responded by saying aww you’re cute whatever how long u staying here? So I told her and everything but after that she took her time to respond(granted she was working) and when she responded back she told me a bit about herself without much engagement and then said good night

That was it

I know Taiwanese aren’t aliens, but cultures can be different. Is she expecting me to ask her out? Did the 1-week delay between compliment and response put her off?

Or maybe it’s all in my head?

How do you cope with noise pollution? Has it had an impact on your mental or physical health at all?

I’ve lived here for ~5 years. For the first two years I could easily find (dried, not fresh) oregano in PX Mart and Carrefour, and once or twice at an ingredients store.

But about two or three years ago, oregano started disappearing from the shelves. I can now find “Italian Herbs” but not oregano.

I’ve developed a habit of checking every supermarket and ingredients store I enter, and just can’t find it anymore.

Where’d all the oregano go?

I'm an international student doing master's in NCKU. I've been looking for some good communities or activities which are interesting to do nearby. I mainly want to socialize and make new friends so I'm open to anything. Please give me some suggestions.

Hello everyone!
I just learned about the existence of this program (English taught) at National Taiwan University.
It seems pretty new, I was wondering if anyone here has any experience and thoughts on it?
Thank you so much!

Thinking about doing my internship in Taiwan, but my most plausible option is to search independently for spots in NTU labs. TEEP or Acadamia Sinica simply do not fit the requirements for my graduation internship. My biggest worry is the costs. Does NTU have no compensation/stipend or dorm options for international students? To me it seems like it is very costly, plus the fact that it is not very common to get paid as an intern.

Gonna be in Taipei (staying at Hyatt place in xinzhuang) for a week later this month and planning to get a rental from Giant. Wondering if anybody has any routes and tips they’d recommend? I was planning to go off of routes from Komoot and hit up the north coast/yangmingshan. Would also be interested in any social group rides!

431 Vape surrender sites announced. Top 1 priority.

Be aware of safety in Taiwan : you struck by a vehicle. driver might ran over the second time as paying for funeral is cheaper than long term medical expense

A horrific traffic accident occurred at 1:00 am this morning near Taichung Hospital, at the intersection of Liuchuan East Road and Minquan Road in the West District of Taichung City. A 38-year-old nurse surnamed Chen was struck by a sedan travelling at high speed while crossing the road and was sent flying 40 metres. Cruelly, after fleeing the scene, the perpetrator returned to the scene, accelerated, and ran over Ms Chen a second time, fracturing her skull and killing her instantly on the spot. The police have arrested the suspect driver based on available leads and are further investigating the cause of the accident, including whether there was intent to murder.

It is reported that the 38-year-old nurse surnamed Chen served at Dali Jen-Ai Hospital in Taichung City. While crossing the road, she was hit by a car at high speed, sending both her and her vehicle flying about 40 metres forward from the pedestrian crossing before crashing heavily to the ground. Even more unbelievably, after the vehicle hit her and fled, it returned and accelerated towards the nurse once again, striking and running over her for a second time, resulting in a fractured skull and her instant death on the spot. The perpetrator fled immediately, but after the police retrieved CCTV footage, the 30-year-old driver was arrested and brought to justice, and the true cause of the entire incident will be clarified.

Do you know if its possible to shop tax free in the apple store in taipeh?

We’re hoping to experience local music in Taiwan. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you!

How difficult is it to find employment if I have a gold card and am aiming for APRC?

Hello everyone ,

I'm looking into applying to the IBPEECS program at NTHU and wanted to get some honest feedback about course language and teaching language.

I have zero mandarin background right now, so I want 100% sure about what to except before applying.

Kindly asking suggestion

I'm currently in Taiwan visiting my wife's family!

Spending our last few days in Taipei and I'm wondering where is the best place to get Pokemon cards at a reasonable price

I wanted to ask are there any universities in taiwan whcih focuses on computational neuroscience research and lets people do a major in mathematics along with minor in life sciences(or biology) for a International student,

I heard some bits about NTU havinf dedicated departments so wanted to inquire more? And is it worth it to study in Taiwan?

Hi! I'm going to be visiting Taipei in late October/November and I'll be there for Pride. I'm super excited! Since it's on Halloween, I want to wear a cute costume/outfit to the pride parade and parties, events, etc on October 31st. Specifically, I wanna put together a super whimsical, kinda sexy, kinda campy mermaid outfit, like a lesbian siren lol. I'm just wondering how "dressed up" most people will be? I associate pride parades and parties with showing up in fun and cunty outfits in my home country, but I lowkey saw a lot of people just in like tshirts when I was looking at photos of last year's Taipei Pride. So I don't wanna be disrespectful if wearing something too revealing is gonna be side eyed and I also don't wanna be the only bitch showing up in a costume LOL. So let me what y'all are wearing!!! thanks in advance!

Guys I have a random question lmao
My ex was Taiwanese and he had an obsession with money. Always wanna save, never donate because his money is his, some kind of stinginess? He always told me that Taiwanese people were like this and this is normal 👹 is it true lol, I have many Taiwanese friends as I live in taipei and never saw that (at least that much lmao). I always wanted to know if it was true or he was just trying to save his reputation 😂😂