The recent global boost in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has significantly benefitted Taiwan’s economy. According to its statistics agency, GDP growth for 2025 has been revised upward to 7.37 percent — the fastest rate in 15 years — primarily driven by surging exports of AI‑related chips, servers and electronics.
Leading the boom is TSMC, the island’s dominant contract chipmaker. As a central manufacturer of the advanced semiconductors powering AI infrastructure worldwide, TSMC — along with other Taiwanese electronics firms — is selling millions of chips, servers, and computing gear to global tech and cloud‑service companies. This has led to quadrupled export orders and record‑breaking shipments in recent months.
But despite this robust macroeconomic growth, many ordinary Taiwanese citizens feel little of the benefit. The AI and electronics sector, while accounting for a large share of GDP and exports, employs a relatively small fraction of the labour force. As a result, wage growth for average workers has remained sluggish, and economic gains remain highly concentrated among those associated with high‑tech manufacturing or export‑oriented firms.
This disparity highlights a growing tension in Taiwan’s AI‑driven boom: global demand and export revenues are skyrocketing — but rising prosperity isn’t necessarily trickling down to the broader population. While the tech supply chain benefits enormously, many workers in traditional sectors or outside high‑tech remain largely disconnected from the windfall, underlining challenges in translating macroeconomic gains into widespread social and economic uplift.
