The Cabinet presented several plans Tuesday to deal with shortages of people and workers. The Cabinet presented several plans Tuesday to deal with shortages of people and workers. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – If present trends continue, Taiwan’s population will shrink by 20 percent from its current level of 23 million to 18 million in 2061, the government said Tuesday.

The Cabinet-level National Development Council (NDC, 國發會) predicts that negative population growth will start in 2025 after reaching a record high of 23.74 million the previous year, leading the government to unveil plans Tuesday and Wednesday to boost the number of births and attract more foreign workers.

The regular NDC population report predicts that in 2061, Taiwan will count 18.37 million residents, or only 78 percent of the population for 2016.

A dramatic drop in the birthrate will lead to the number of births falling by half by 2061, with the school population continuing to drop over the next 20 years while the workforce will grow significantly older, Yahoo! reported.

While in 2016, an average of 5.6 younger people needed to support one elderly person, in 2061, the ratio might have changed to 1.3 younger people to each senior citizen.

The Cabinet unveiled its plans Tuesday for a “New Economic Migrant Act” to attract more foreign investors and mid-level technical staff, but on Wednesday it was likely to present broad measures to encourage more births, reports said.