Taiwan 2016-2023 GDP growth outpaces global average: DGBAS

Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) Taiwan's annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth reached an average of 3.17 percent between 2016 and 2023, higher than the global average, due to an investment boom, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

DGBAS revealed the statistics on Thursday after reviewing Taiwan's economic data from the past few decades. The announcement comes in the wake of major international institutions predicting the country's economy will bottom out in 2024 and that GDP will grow at a faster pace than the global average.

The DGBAS official said that due to geopolitics and the government's preferential policies, Taiwan's economy is at a crucial juncture.

The official added that uncertainties caused by the United States-China trade war have prompted many China-based Taiwanese businesses to return to Taiwan, giving the economy a boost. This has been aided by incentive plans put into place by the government to attract such businesses back to the country.

Describing investment as the locomotive of economic growth, the official said that investment will enable production, which will further boost employment and labor-force demand.

If production can meet market needs, manufacturers' profits will increase and they will be able to raise wages for employees, leading to a positive cycle of economic growth, according to the official.

In addition, the National Development Council (NDC) said in a statement issued Jan. 6 that the government has rolled out a slew of plans in the last seven years in a bid to promote industrial development and attract investment which has helped fuel Taiwan's economic growth.

Jan. 2: Taiwan's manufacturing activity contracts for 10th straight month

Dec. 27: Taiwan economy leaves contraction behind in November

Dec. 14: Central bank raises Taiwan's GDP growth forecast to 3.12% for 2024

Taiwan's GDP growth is not only higher than the global average, the economy is also ranked high among Asian economies, the NDC said, adding that in 2022, Taiwan became the world's 21st-largest economy, with annual per capita income surpassing US$30,000.

Moreover, DGBAS data showed that the average annual salary for full-time employees in Taiwan has also risen.

For instance, average regular wages (basic salary and fixed stipends) adjusted for inflation were relatively flat, growing around 1 percent year-on-year during the January-October period in the few years before 2016.

However, from 2016-2023, average regular wages during the January-October period rose more than 2 percent annually four times, with a 2.9 percent year-on-year increase recorded in the first 10 months of 2022, according to the data.

The NDC also said that although Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.95 percent in 2022, the highest increase since 2009 -- amid the global inflation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war -- the rise is lower than that of major economies such as the United States (8.0 percent), the eurozone (8.4 percent), South Korea (5.1 percent), and Singapore (6.1 percent).

The NDC statement came in response to the campaign office for Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) after it said earlier that day that Taiwan's economic growth had been declining in the past few years, noting that the country had fallen from 12th place in 2020, when it had a growth rate of 3.4 percent, to 63rd in 2021 with 6.6 percent, and to 136th in 2022 with 2.4 percent.

Taiwan's economic history

Taiwan's economy experienced rapid growth from 1981-1990, with an average growth rate of 8.2 percent, much higher than the 3.2 percent global average, the DGBAS official said.

From 1991-2000, Taiwan posted a growth rate of 6.7 percent, compared to the global average of 2.8 percent, while from 2001-2010, Taiwan's growth averaged 4.2 percent, higher than the global average of 2.6 percent, according to the official.

In the late 1990s, a wave of Taiwanese industries relocated to China, which led to economic growth slowing, the official said.

Between 2011 and 2018, Taiwan posted an average growth rate of 2.8 percent, lower than the global average of 3 percent, with Taiwan's growth mainly driven by companies tied to the Apple supply chain.