Created as part of Columbia Journalism School's Points Unknown Mapping class
The number of foreigners living in Taiwan has risen in most provinces over the past five years, but has declined in the mountainous eastern parts of the island.
Across Taiwan as a whole, the five countries accounting for most of Taiwan's foreign population - Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia - were all in Southeast Asia. Together, they make up 91.4% of the country's foreign population.
Taoyuan City (桃園巿) saw the greatest increase in its foreign population, with over 10,000 more foreigners living there in 2022 than in 2017. As with the rest of Taiwan's foreign population growth, much of that growth stems from Southeastern Asian countries. In both 2017 and 2022, the five countries accounting for the highest number of immigrants in Taoyuan City - Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia - were in Southeast Asia. In 2022, residents from those five countries accounted for 96.5% of the foreign population in Taoyuan City. Taoyuan's population growth, which was the largest of Taiwan's six municipalities in 2020, is in part fueled by new job opportunities and its proximity to New Taipei City and Taipei City - Taiwan's metropolis.
The other main sources of Taiwan's foreign population are the other major Asian countries, Japan, Korea and India, as well as the United States.
While decreases in the country's eastern region weren't large in number, they were significant percent drops for the more sparsely populated areas. Of the five areas that saw a decrease in its foreign population, four of them had double-digit percent decreases. The number of foreign residents in Penghu County, an archipelago off the coast of Taiwan's main island, dropped 22.3%. Taitung County, at the southernmost tip of Taiwan, also saw a 20.4% decrease.
Despite the slight growth in foreign increases, Taiwan's population as a whole has been shrinking, prompting the government to enact new measures meant to support the workforce. Natural growth through birth rates have remained low, as fewer people marry or decide to marry at older ages, according to Taiwan News. In 2021, birth and marriage hit record lows, death rates were higher than the year prior and emigration out of the island exceeded immigration, Taiwan News reported.
Data source: Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior National Immigration Agency, Foreign Residents by Nationality data from April 30 of each year