Taiwan births down 6.3 pct in 2017

TAIPEI -- A total of 195,000 babies were born in Taiwan in 2017, down 6.3 percent, according to the island's interior affairs authority on Sunday.

Among the newborns, 48.2 percent were girls, leaving a sex ratio of 107.6.

About half the newborns' mothers had their first child and another 37.8 percent delivered for a second time, said a press release from the authority.

It also highlighted the influence of late marriage and late childbearing culture.

The average age of first-time mothers was 30.8, which 2.3 years elder than the record in 2007.

Those over 35 also made up 21.3 percent of the first-time mothers in 2017, up 13.5 percent from ten years ago.