Taiwan’s economy expanded by 14.36% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2026, up from 12.93% in the previous quarter and beating market expectations of 12%, according to preliminary estimates. The strong performance was mainly driven by continued demand for emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence and related applications.
Domestic demand growth strengthened to 11.91% from 8.83% in Q2. Government spending nearly doubled, rising to 6.43% from 3.24%, while household consumption eased slightly to 5.37% from 5.91%. Gross capital formation also surged, jumping to 26.36% from 16.2% in the previous quarter, largely supported by higher investment in machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, intellectual property products, and construction.
External demand remained solid. Although export growth edged down slightly to 21.12% from 21.24%, import growth accelerated to 20.12% from 18.25%. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, Taiwan’s GDP rose 3.21%, up from 1.39% in Q2, marking its strongest quarterly expansion since Q4 2025.
