Taiwan was under martial law until mid to late 1980s, which is when the country had the greatest population growth. When democratization started in the mid to late 1980s, the chart shows the decreasing population growth, which means Taiwan is reaching its post-development stage. The economic crises of 1997 and 2008 could also be a contributing factor as rising cost of living contributes to people having fewer children. Based on current trends, Taiwan's population growth will continue to decrease, which means Taiwan will hit its population cap in the 2020s or even in 2030s. After that, Taiwan's population will start to slowly decrease with an aging population in these years.