3Q23 GDP rises 2.32%

Taiwan’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2.32% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2023, based on advance estimates by the Directorate General of Budget Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). This was higher than the 1.36% growth rate in 2Q23 but 0.22 percentage points lower than the DGBAS’s previous forecast. However it marks a second quarter of recovery after contractions of 0.78% in 4Q22 and 3.31% in 1Q23.

According to a DGBAS news release, real private final consumption expanded by 8.90% y-o-y in 3Q23, mainly driven by expenditures on services such as transportation, dining out, accommodation, recreation, as well as purchases of vehicles and flourishing outbound tourism. According to the news release, despite the emergence of AI applications, global demand remained weak, resulting in real exports of goods and services dropping by 1.05% y-o-y. Imports also fell by 4.87% year-on-year in the quarter.