Taiwan

Economy & industry overview

Taiwan is a high-income, export-oriented economy whose strength is anchored in the global semiconductor and electronics supply chain. The island is home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, which alone represents roughly 44 percent of total domestic stock-market capitalization. Exports of semiconductors, electronics, petrochemicals, and precision machinery drive sustained current-account surpluses, and Taiwan ranked as the world's 16th-largest exporter in 2024. The economy grew at a real rate of approximately 8.68 percent in 2025, driven by surging AI-related demand for advanced chips, servers, power systems, and related components. Services account for roughly 62 percent of GDP, industry around 36 percent, and agriculture under 2 percent.

Key sectors

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Macro

GDP nominal, USD	$884.00B
GDP growth real, annual	8.7%
Inflation annual	1.7%
Population people	23.4M
GDP per capita USD	$37,778
Market cap total listed, USD	$3.00T
Market cap / GDP	339.4%
Unemployment	3.4%
Listed companies	1,000
Exchange	Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE)

Primary data year: 2025. Sources: Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE) Fact Book 2026, International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook (April 2026), Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan), MSCI Index Factsheets (MSCI Taiwan Index, April 2025), Wikipedia Economy of Taiwan, Worldometers Taiwan GDP, Taipei Times, Taiwan.gov.tw Government Portal, LSEG Lipper Alpha. Individual figures may cover different reference periods — for example a fiscal year, or an estimate for the current year — and the overview above states these where known.

Local exchange & access

Exchange	Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation
Code	TWSE
Website	www.twse.com.tw
Currency	TWD

Local broker access

Non-resident foreign investors may trade TWSE-listed securities by first opening a securities trading account with a local broker or a foreign broker with a Taiwan sub-custodian, and registering with the Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corporation. Many international online brokers provide access to TWSE stocks, and US-listed ADRs such as TSM offer direct exposure to TSMC without requiring a local account. Foreign investors collectively held approximately 49 percent of TWSE market capitalisation as of early 2026.

Global brokers with foreign-market access

• Interactive Brokers — Direct access to 90+ markets worldwide, including many emerging exchanges.
• Saxo Bank — Multi-market access across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
• Charles Schwab (Global) — Foreign ordinary shares on select markets; US-listed ADRs and ETFs.
• Fidelity International Trading — International stock trading on a number of developed and emerging markets.

Listed for convenience only. Not a recommendation. Available markets, fees and onboarding rules differ by broker and by your country of residence.

Relocation & residency

Foreign-investor access

Foreign nationals may reside in Taiwan on an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) tied to employment, study, or qualifying investment. Taiwan does not grant citizenship easily to foreigners; naturalisation typically requires renouncing existing citizenship, though exceptions exist for high-level professionals. The cost of living in Taipei is moderate relative to comparable East Asian financial centres, and public healthcare is available to ARC holders enrolled in the National Health Insurance system.