National Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan)

May 30, 2024　For the first quarter of 2024, Taiwan’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.56% from the same period of previous year, according to the latest preliminary estimate. The real GDP is predicted to grow by 3.94% in 2024. Meanwhile, GDP growth rate have been revised to 4.83% and 1.28% for the fourth quarter and whole year of 2023.

Preliminary Estimate of Real GDP in 2024Q1

        The real GDP increased by 1.08% on a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally-adjusted annualized basis (saar) and 6.56% on a year-on-year basis (yoy, all growth rates hereafter are on the same basis) in 2024Q1, 0.05 percentage point higher than the advance estimate.

        Meanwhile, the economic growth rates have been revised to 4.83% and 1.28% for the 2023Q4 and the whole year of 2023, respectively (formerly 4.93% and 1.31%).

        On the demand side, real private final consumption expanded by 4.45% in 2024Q1, mainly driven by expenditures on services such as transportation, travel, restaurants and securities transaction fees, as well as the flourishing outbound tourism.

        Due to the increase in exports of emerging application goods and inbound travel services, real exports of goods and services grew by 9.11%. Imports also grew by 0.84%.

        Regarding gross capital formation, investment in construction, transportation equipment and intellectual property products grew. However, investment in machinery equipment reduced significantly. Combining inventory changes, real gross capital formation declined by 4.88%.

        On the production side, the manufacturing sector increased by 6.58% in 2024Q1, higher than the 0.03% decrease in the previous quarter, mainly due to the output expansion of semiconductor and computers, electronic & optical products.

        The wholesale and retail trade sector increased by 5.46%, after the expansion of 3.89% in the previous quarter.

        The transportation and storage sector grew by 11.71% in 2024Q1, due to the growing number of passengers taking land and air transport.

        The financial and insurance sector increased by 17.22% in 2024Q1, following the 12.12% growth in the previous quarter.

Outlook for 2024

        With inflation declining, global economy is expected to grow at a steady pace. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world trade volume growth is projected to accelerate from 0.3% in 2023 to 3.0% this year. Moreover, the strong demand for new technological applications, such as AI applications and high performance computing (HPC), accompanied by domestic production capacity expansion in semiconductor and ICT industries in recent years, will boost Taiwan’s export. In aggregate with services exports, real exports of goods and services will grow by 8.44% in 2024.

        Real private consumption will grow by 2.77%, supported by the strong labor market and wage lift, along with the wealth effect stemming from the rising stock market. The growth also benefits from the recovering outbound tourism.

        Real private fixed capital formation is anticipated to increase by 1.52%. To maintain technical advantages, domestic semiconductor companies have been expanding their production capacity in advanced process and packaging technology, and scaling up investments in R&D. In addition, transportation companies’ fleet expansion will further contribute to Taiwan’s investment growth.

        Combining the above components as well as the public sector, Taiwan’s real GDP is projected to grow by 3.94% in 2024, revised upward by 0.51 percentage point from the previous forecast.

        Consumer price Index (CPI) will increase 2.07%, revised upward by 0.22 percentage point, mainly reflecting the price stickiness in the services sector, such as the lasting price rises in food away from home, residential rents, and medical care services.

Full text and tables (PDF)

【Attachment】

• Table 1-1 Gross Domestic Product and Economic Growth Rate (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 1-2 GDP、GNI and NI (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table   2  Changes in Prices (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 3-1 Expenditures on Gross Domestic Product : At Current Prices (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 3-2 Expenditures on Gross Domestic Product : Composition at Current Prices (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 3-3 Expenditures on Gross Domestic Product : Growth Rates In Chained Volume Indexes(yoy) (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 3-4 Expenditures on Gross Domestic Product : Contributions to Economic Growth Rate(yoy) (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 4-1 Gross Domestic Product by Kind of Activity : At Current Prices (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 4-2 Gross Domestic Product by Kind of Activity : Composition at Current Prices (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 4-3 Gross Domestic Product by Kind of Activity : Growth Rates In Chained Volume Indexes(yoy) (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 4-4 Gross Domestic Product by Kind of Activity : Contributions to Economic Growth Rate (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table   5  Gross National Savings and Gross Domestic Investment (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table   6  Exports and Imports (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 7-1 Expenditures on GDP, Seasonally Adjusted : Chained dollars (Reference year = 2016) (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table 7-2 Expenditures on GDP, Seasonally Adjusted : Growth Rates (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table   8   Indicators for Private Final Consumption Expenditure (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table   9   Indicators for Private Gross Fixed Capital Formation (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table  10  Economic Growth Rates of Major Countries (EXCEL) (ODF)
• Table  11  Percent Changes in CPI and Food Index of Major Countries & Regions (EXCEL) (ODF)