TAIPEI, Sept 26 — Taiwan will raise child daycare allowances by at least NT$1,500 (RM213.56) a month starting next year to try to boost its shrinking birth rate, said Premier Chen Chien-jen.
Chen said starting Jan 1, subsidies for parents with children under 3 attending public care centres will be increased to NT$7,000 per month from NT$5,500, Central News Agency (CNA) cited a statement issued by the Executive Yuan late Monday.
Those using publicly subsidised private day care centres or home babysitting services will receive NT$13,000 a month, up from NT$8,500 currently.
Additional child daycare subsidies will be offered to parents with two or three children and those from low-income or lower-middle-income families, the statement said.
According to the premier, the government budget for measures to counter declining birth rates has grown from NT$15 billion in 2016 to NT$120.1 billion projected in 2024.
The number of new births has plummeted, falling from 193,844 in 2017 to 138,986 in 2022, according to Interior Ministry statistics.
In the first eight months of 2023 only 88,935 new births were recorded.
— Bernama-CNA
