In the last quarter, Taiwan's economy experienced its most rapid growth in two years, thanks to a significant rise in private consumption, as per the preliminary report from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics released on Wednesday.
The nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 5.12 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, outpacing the 2.32 percent surge documented in the prior quarter. This growth exceeded expectations, which had been predicted at 4.35 percent.
When viewed on a seasonally adjusted annualised quarter-on-quarter basis, the GDP exhibited a sharp growth of 8.79 percent, compared to the 7.81 percent growth reported in the September quarter.
This robust growth was primarily boosted by a 5.44 percent increase in private final consumption, specifically in spending related to service sectors like transportation, travel, and recreation, plus the consumption of vehicles and booming outbound tourism.
Government consumption expenditures also saw a growth of 0.79 percent. However, gross capital formation, including machinery equipment investment, continued to witness a decline, falling sharply by 8.68 percent.
The data also indicated a rise in exports by 3.58 percent, while imports fell by 4.26 percent.
Examining the annual performance, overall GDP growth in 2023 was 1.4 percent, a noticeable drop from its 2022 growth of 2.59 percent. This marked the slowest rate of expansion recorded since 2010.
