TAIPEI -- The number of new couples in Taiwan was 121,702 in 2020, down 9.53 percent from 2019 and the lowest in the past decade, according to the island's relevant department.

The department attributed the decrease to the impact of COVID-19, adding that the number of new couples in Taiwan has maintained a downward trend since 2015.

The highest figure in the past decade was recorded in 2011 when around 165,000 couples registered to marry amid the recovery of the local economy and lower unemployment, the department said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the number of mainland residents marrying Taiwan residents fell by 64.72 percent to 2,363 in 2020, also the lowest since 2011, the department said.