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Taiwan has one of the world's lowest birth rates and now the Taiwanese government has just released legislation that they will now be paying couples to have babies beginning January 2011.  Low birthrates are becoming more and more evident throughout the world, so read what is going on in Taiwan, as it is only a taste of what is to come for the rest of the world.

Taipei City plans to start paying couples to have babies starting January 1st, 2011, the city government has said, in the latest move by the Taiwanese central government to boost one of the world's lowest birth rates.

Municipal authorities will give NT$20,000 (US$625) for every newborn baby from next year and provide monthly subsidies for children aged under five years old in lower-income families whose household net income is less than NT$1.13 million annually. The city government said 20,000 newborn babies and 90,000 children are expected to benefit from this new program. “We hope the comprehensive plan will help young couples feel more relaxed about having children,” Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin told reporters, adding the policy could cost NT$3 billion annually.

Hau said the plan would not crowd out budgets of other social welfare projects due to better tax revenues recently. In some cases, the city government will levy taxes on luxury residences next year and the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) is expected to boost Taiwan's economic recovery. Birth rates in Taipei dived to an all-time low in 2009 with only 19,403 babies being born, down 40 percent from a decade ago, according to the city government.

Various surveys have shown that many couples cited financial concerns, including rising child-care expenses, as their main reasons for not wanting to have babies.

Taiwan authorities have been offering varied incentives to encourage births amid growing concerns that a severe manpower shortage caused by low birth rates and an aging population will trigger serious social and economic problems. The nation's birth rate stood at 8.29 per 1,000 people last year, according to official figures. That compares with a global average of more than 20 births per 1,000 people, accordin