New Taipei cuts monthly kindergarten fee to NT$4,500 to boost birthrates

新北市將每月幼兒園費用減至4,500新台幣提高出生率

The 2019 World Population Review puts Taiwan’s fertility rate at 1.218 children per woman


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Households with infants in New Taipei City can benefit from a new measure relieving the financial burden of child rearing by cutting kindergarten fees to NT$4,500 (US$143) per month.

At an inauguration ceremony for a private preschool on Thursday (June 20), New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) announced the government is working with 96 kindergartens. The measure will see 5,404 extra infants included in the city’s daycare service, at a cost of less than NT$4,500 a month.

It is part of the government’s efforts to provide incentives to raise kids in the most populated municipality of Taiwan. An NT$20 million budget has been set aside in the form of subsidies to help improve facilities and quality of service at the preschools, reported UDN.

Hou noted more investment will be made to increase the accessibility of daycare services, establish more non-profit kindergartens, and encourage institutions to develop their own characteristics.

New Taipei has added 472 classes and 12,745 students at preschool level between 2011 and 2019. The 2019 World Population Review put Taiwan’s fertility rate at 1.218 children per woman, and the population’s current annual growth rate at 0.27 percent.