Strollers with dogs have become common in Taiwan’s capital,because there are now more pets than children in Taiwan as more people have been adopting pets and the country’s birthrate has declined.

Taiwan officials estimated there were close to 3 million pets in the country during the second half of this year, a number even larger than the number of children age 14 or younger.

At the same time, Taiwan has a declining birth rate – down 6% from 2016 to 2019.

Media reports also pointed to social pressure against having a child outside of marriage, as well as short maternity leave periods and lowwages, as the largest barriers to having children in the country

.The growing number of pets in Taiwan isn’t an accident. The country has encouraged pet ownership by boosting pet accommodations like pet-friendly restaurants and hotels in Taipei, according to PetFood Industry.com. The city, with a population of about 2.7 million people,had more than 120 pet-oriented hospitality businesses as of last year, such as eateries that offer “gourmet” pet menus with human-grade ingredients.

Taipei even introduced several “pet-friendly” bus lines last year in which animals just need to be on a leash, not in a carrier.Some accessories traditionally associated with humans have also become more popular for pets in Taiwan, according to The Guardian. For instance, it's not completely uncommon to see a dog sporting a raincoat, sunglasses or socks.