Taiwan’s economy, heavily dependent on trade, experienced its fastest growth in a year during the first quarter of 2025, compared to the last quarter of 2024. This growth was primarily driven by a surge in exports due to strong technology demand, in anticipation of potential U.S. import tariffs.
The nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by a preliminary 5.37% in the first quarter from a year earlier. This growth rate is the quickest since the 6.64% recorded in the first quarter of 2024, as reported by the statistics agency on Wednesday. The recent growth surpasses the 3.4% increase predicted by analysts and outpaces the 2.9% growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Taiwan plays a significant role in the global technology supply chain, being home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Taiwan’s economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 9.67%.
