The number of aboriginal people in Taiwan totaled 494,107 as of the end of last year. That's up 2.05 percent from the previous year.

According to statistics released by the interior ministry on Friday, the increase was about six times that of the rate of growth of Taiwan's overall population.

Taiwan's indigenous people were also younger on average than other ethnic groups, averaging 31.93 years of age as of the end of last year. That's 5.23 years younger than the country's population averaged as a whole

Of the 14 tribes in Taiwan, the Amis were the most populous with 177,909 people, followed by the Paiwan and the Atayal tribes. The three tribes accounted for nearly 70 percent of the total aboriginal population.

Hualien County in eastern Taiwan had the most indigenous people at 89,812. But Taitung County, also in eastern Taiwan, had the highest ratio of aboriginal people -- about one in three people in Taitung belongs to an indigenous tribe.