Taiwan’s population is expected to rapidly age over the next five years; currently, more than 20 percent of the population is over the age of 65. By 2060, the elderly population will encompass more than 41.4 percent of the population. This demographic shift poses a major question: how will Taiwan manage its impending labor shortage? To meet the challenge, it will need to enhance worker protections for the army of elder-care workers and other migrant laborers—including those from Southeast Asia—who are filling vacant roles in other industries.

There are currently around 700,000 migrant laborers in Taiwan, making up about 80 percent of the 960,000 foreign residents in Taiwan. Most of these laborers are from four Southeast Asian nations: Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. Approximately a quarter million are in domestic care roles, taking care of both children and elders. The remainder fill roles in industries such as agriculture, fishing, and even semiconductor factories.

Since 1992, Taiwan has heavily relied on overseas workers specifically in the long-term elderly care industry, in part due to the cheaper cost. While long-term care policies in Taiwan have evolved over time, Southeast Asian workers have been an indispensable part of the system for three decades. And if anything, demand for such workers will increase as the population ages even further.