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Taiwan's GDP Rises 14.55% in Q1 on AI Boom

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Taiwan posted real GDP growth of 14.55% year-on-year in the first quarter, driven by strong external demand linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to preliminary data released by the National Statistics Republic of China (Taiwan) on Friday.

Exports of goods and services jumped 35.76%, supported by semiconductor, computer, and electronics production, while manufacturing expanded 26.18%.

On the domestic side, private consumption rose 4.74%, while investment (gross capital formation) increased 5.92%. Services, such as wholesale and retail trade, expanded 14.7%, transport and storage grew 3.41%, and financial and insurance activities climbed 15.3%, supported by sustained AI-related supply chain momentum.

Looking ahead, the statistics agency raised its 2026 GDP growth forecast by 1.93 percentage points from the previous estimate to 9.64%, citing continued cloud and AI capital expenditure cycles that are expected to keep export momentum strong across the semiconductor ecosystem, the filing said.

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