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| .tw Taiwan |
Overview Taiwan is located in the Western Pacific, between Japan and the Philippines, off the southeast coast of China and separated from China by the Taiwan Strait. The island has a total area of about 36,000 square kilometres and is 394 kilometres long and 144 kilometres at its widest point. Its GNP in 2001 was US$286.8 billion, with per-capita GNP reaching US$12,876. The lack of natural resources and a relatively small domestic market make Taiwan dependent on foreign trade, which constitutes about 80 percent of GNP. They have also made Taiwan the third largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, with over US$140 billion. In 2001, Taiwan’s foreign trade totalled US$230.1 billion. Although exports for the year were down by 17.2 percent to US$122.9 billion, owing to the global economic recession, Taiwan still ranked 14th among the world’s leading exporters. In the same year, Taiwan was ranked the world’s 16th largest economy and the 16th largest importer. Agriculture’s contribution to the economy continues to shrink, accounting for only 1.95 percent of GDP. The GDP share of the manufacturing sector dropped from 32.40 percent in 2000 to 31.09 percent in 2001. At the same time, the GDP share of the service sector rose to 66.96 percent. Employment in the service sector (finance, commerce, transportation, etc.) also constitutes the largest share of the workforce at 56.5 percent. Taiwan’s
diligent labour force created an economic miracle in the 1980s. Over the past
two decades, Taiwan has gradually transformed its industries. Today, it has the
world’s fourth largest ICT hardware industry and the fourth largest semiconductor
industry. Innovative and high-quality "Made in Taiwan" products are
sold around the world. With its accession to WTO in January 2002, Taiwan is positioned
to make significant contributions to the global trading system and its economic
prosperity. At the same time, Southeast Asia has recently emerged as a new market for Taiwan, becoming the favourite place for Taiwanese foreign investment after China. In 2001, exports to Southeast Asian countries accounted for 12.0 percent of Taiwan’s total exports. Another target of Taiwan’s recent market diversification policy is Europe. In 2001, exports to Europe totalled US$19.8 billion, accounting for 16.1 percent of the total. In previous years, Taiwan usually registered a trade deficit with Europe; however, the situation has reversed since 1999. In 2001, Taiwan enjoyed a trade surplus of US$4.8 billion with Europe. The aggregate value of Taiwan’s imports in 2001 was US$107.2 billion, down 23.4 percent from the preceding year. Major imports include electrical machinery, mechanical appliances, mineral fuels and precision instruments. The leading source of imports is Japan, which in 2001 accounted for 24.1 percent or US$25.9 billion of the total. Many Taiwanese industries rely heavily on parts and manufacturing technology from Japan, particularly the information and automotive industries. With the exception of 1996, 1998 and 2001, imports from Japan have grown continuously, leading to a serious trade deficit. Nowadays, imports from Japan are eight times larger than they were 20 years ago, rising from US$3.2 billion to US$25.9 billion in 2001. The
second largest supplier of imports is the USA, accounting for 17.1 percent or
US$18.2 billion in 2001. Collectively, ASEAN countries provided 14.9 percent of
imports in 2001, while imports from Europe accounted for 14.0 percent in the same
year. South Korea has become the third largest supplier of products to Taiwan
in recent years. Although South Korea’s export value still lags far behind that
of Japan and the USA, imports from South Korea have allowed the two sides to balance
their bilateral trade. |
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