Taiwans Economy Sees Boost from Artificial Intelligence Adoption

Taiwan’s Economy Experiences Rapid Growth, Leaving Some Behind

Taipei, Taiwan – The country’s economy has seen significant growth in recent years, with gross domestic product (GDP) rising 8.63 percent in 2025 and 13.69 percent in the first three months of this year. Exports have also surged, increasing by 34.9 percent last year to $640.7 billion, with tech-related goods and services accounting for more than two-thirds of the total.

The semiconductor industry has been a major driver of this growth, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) producing over 20 percent of the country’s GDP. The company’s top customers include Nvidia and Apple. However, some Taiwanese individuals are expressing concerns that the benefits of this growth are not being shared equally.

An engineer at ASUS, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that while the tech industry is vibrant, many other industries do not appear to be experiencing similar growth. “Most industries unrelated to tech don’t seem to be feeling the benefits,” he said. “It’s mainly the industries at the front of this tech wave that are benefiting.”

According to data compiled by Dachrahn Wu, director of National Central University’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, the semiconductor industry employs only about 300,000 people in a workforce of 11 million. The broader electronics and IT manufacturing industry employs around one million people, while the service sector has seven million workers.

Historians point to the Asian Tiger era of the 1960s to 1990s as an example of a more evenly distributed economic growth model. During this period, hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) drove economic growth, with wealth benefits being more widely distributed across Taiwanese society.

However, experts warn that Taiwan’s current economic model has left it at risk of becoming a “dual society” where tech dominates talent, funding, and resources. Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, noted that low wages for workers in non-tech roles and rising costs for businesses are significant challenges facing the country.

The Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-lung has also raised concerns about an emerging “K-shaped economy,” where certain sectors grow rapidly while others stagnate.

Source: Al Jazeera