Taiwan's birth rate has continued its downward trend, with the number of newborns expected to drop to a new low this year, an official of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said Thursday.
一名內政部官員二十二日說，我國的出生率繼續下降的趨勢，預期新生兒的數目今年將下降到新低點。
Only 137967 babies were born in Taiwan in the first nine months of this year, representing a 3.4 percent decline from the year-earlier level, the official said.
該官員說，今年前九個月，只有137,967個嬰兒在台灣出生，從去年同期的水平，下降3.4個百分點。
"Given this trend, the total number of this year's newborns could fall below 192,000, which would be a new low in the country's history, " the official added.
這位官員補充說：「鑑於這一趨勢，今年的新生兒總數可能跌破十九萬二千，這將是我國歷史上的新低點。」
The number of newborns slid below the benchmark 200,000 for the first time in 2008, when only 198,733 babies were born.
新生兒人數在2008年首次跌破二十萬的基準，當時只有198733名嬰兒出生。
According to MOI tallies, northern Taiwan's Hsinchu City boasted the highest crude birth rate of 9.4 births per 1,000 population for the January-September period, while the northern port city of Keelung recorded the lowest birth rate of 4.9.
根據內政部統計，一月至九月期間，北台灣新竹市擁有最高粗出生率，每千人有9.4人出生，而北部的基隆港市記錄最低，出生率為每千人4.9名嬰兒。
Compared with the same period of last year, the offshore Kinmen and Lienchiang counties saw the largest growth in birth rate, both increasing 0.5 per 1,000 population, while the southern city of Chiayi posted the largest decline of 0.5 per 1,000.
與去年同期相比，離海的金門縣和連江縣人口出生率出現了最大的增長，都提高了千分之0.5，而南部的嘉義市則跌幅最大，達千分之0.5。
Taitung County in eastern Taiwan had the highest number of illegitimate babies followed by neighboring Hualien County and then Keelung City.
東台灣的台東縣非婚生嬰兒數最多，花蓮縣居次，然後是基隆市。
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