A partially recognized state in East Asia and officially named the Republic of China, Taiwan shipped US$432.2 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2023.

That dollar amount results from a 31.2% advance compared to $329.5 billion five years earlier during 2019.

Year over year, the overall value of Taiwanese exported goods fell by -9.6% from $478.3 billion in 2022.

Note that the island of Taiwan was once known as Formosa and may be referred to as Chinese Taipei in some online publications.

Taiwan’s biggest export is electronic integrated circuits and related microassemblies. That commodity group represents almost four-fifths (38.5%) of the total shipments by value from Taiwan, Province of China.

Taiwan’s Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 86.2% of products exported from Taiwan were bought by importers in: mainland China (22.1% of the Taiwanese total), United States of America (17.6%), Hong Kong (13.1%), Japan (7.3%), Singapore (6.9%), South Korea (4.2%), Malaysia (3.5%), Netherlands (3%), Vietnam (2.7%), Thailand (2.5%), Germany (1.9%) and India (1.4%).

From a continental perspective, 67.9% of Taiwan’s exports by value was delivered to fellow Asian countries while 19.5% was sold to importers in North America. Taiwan shipped another 9.8% worth of goods to Europe.

Smaller percentages went to buyers in Oceania (1.6%) led by Australia, Latin America (0.8%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Africa (0.4%).

Given Taiwan’s population of 23.57 million people, its total $432.2 billion in 2023 exports translates to $18,300 for every resident in the East Asian province. That dollar metric lags the average $20,500 for one year earlier in 2022.

Taiwan’s head count amounts to a tiny 0.3% portion of the overall global population. Nevertheless Taiwan tallied 1.7% compared to the world’s total exports by value recorded one year earlier for 2022.

Taiwan’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Taiwanese global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Taiwan.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: US$222.5 billion (51.5% of total exports)
2. Machinery including computers: $77.2 billion (17.9%)
3. Plastics, plastic articles: $17.6 billion (4.1%)
4. Mineral fuels including oil: $13.2 billion (3.1%)
5. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $13 billion (3%)
6. Vehicles: $11.5 billion (2.7%)
7. Iron, steel: $9.2 billion (2.1%)
8. Organic chemicals: $8 billion (1.8%)
9. Articles of iron or steel: $7.9 billion (1.8%)
10. Copper: $4 billion (0.9%)

Taiwan’s top 10 exports accounted for 88.9% of the overall value of Taiwanese shipments.

Machinery including computers was the lone gainer among the top 10 export categories, up by 22.3% from 2022 to 2023.

The leading decliner among Taiwan’s top 10 export categories was vehicles, pulled down by a -27.3% year-over-year drop.

Note that the results listed above are at the categorized two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. For a more granular view of exported goods at the four-digit HTS code level, see the section Searchable List of Taiwan’s Most Valuable Export Products further down near the bottom of this article.

Products Generating Taiwan’s Best Trade Surpluses

Taiwan generated an overall US$73.7 billion trade surplus from all goods bought and sold on international markets during 2023, accelerating by 80.1% from the $40.9 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2022.

The following types of Taiwanese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: US$115.2 billion (Down by -3.2% since 2022)
2. Machinery including computers: $21.9 billion (Down by -328.4%)
3. Plastics, plastic articles: $10.3 billion (Down by -25.4%)
4. Articles of iron or steel: $5.7 billion (Down by -24.2%)
5. Base metal tools, cutlery: $2.5 billion (Down by -14.6%)
6. Manmade filaments: $1.7 billion (Down by -18.8%)
7. Knit or crochet fabric: $1.6 billion (Down by -32.5%)
8. Other base metal goods: $1.4 billion (Down by -23.4%)
9. Toys, games: $1.3 billion (Down by -26.8%)
10. Rubber, rubber articles: $1 billion (Down by -27.6%)

Taiwan has highly positive net exports in the international trade of electrical goods including consumer electronics. In turn, these cashflows indicate Taiwan’s world-renown competitive advantages under the electrical machinery and equipment category.

Products Causing Taiwan’s Worst Trade Deficits

Below are exports from Taiwan that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Taiwan’s goods trail Taiwanese importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$43.7 billion (Down by -28.1% since 2022)
2. Pharmaceuticals: -$4.5 billion (Down by -29.5%)
3. Other chemical goods: -$2.8 billion (Down by -17.2%)
4. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$2.7 billion (Up by 3.1%)
5. Ores, slag, ash: -$2.34 billion (Down by -16.2%)
6. Aircraft, spacecraft: -$2.28 billion (Up by 15.9%)
7. Meat: -$2.1 billion (Down by -1.6%)
8. Oil seeds: -$2 billion (Down by -13.2%)
9. Cereals: -$1.8 billion (Down by -25.1%)
10. Gems, precious metals: -$1.5 billion (Down by -19.6%)

Taiwan has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels-related products particularly crude oil, petroleum gases and coal.

These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Taiwan’s competitive disadvantages in the international energy market, but also represent key opportunities for Taiwan to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations on alternative energy sources.

Taiwan’s Major Export Companies

Forty-seven corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of the major Taiwanese companies that Forbes included.

• Advanced Semiconductor (semiconductors)
• Asustek Computer (computer hardware)
• Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co. (automotive parts)
• China Steel (iron, steel)
• Delta Electronics (electronics)
• Formosa Chemicals (specialized chemicals)
• Formosa Petrochemical (oil, gas)
• Formosa Plastics (specialized chemicals)
• Hon Hai Precision (electronics)
• Mediatek (semiconductors)
• Nan Ya Plastics (diversified chemicals)
• Pegatron (electronics)
• Quanta Computer (computer hardware)
• Taiwan Semiconductor (semiconductors)
• Uni-President (food processing)

According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following companies are also examples of Taiwanese export companies.

• Acer Inc. (computers, smartphones, other electronics)
• Faithful Taiwan (wooden furniture, plastic bags, miscellaneous plastic articles)
• Hosoda Taiwan (automobile steering mechanisms)
• Swire Coca Cola Taiwan (soft drinks, green tea, sparkling wines)
• Taiwan Specco (furniture parts, mountings, seat parts)

 

Searchable List of Taiwan’s Most Valuable Export Products

At the more granular four-digit HTS code level, the following searchable table displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from Taiwan during 2023. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2022.

Rank	Export Product	Value (US$)	Change
1	Integrated circuits/microassemblies	$166,520,638,000	-9.4%
2	Computers, optical readers	$38,683,253,000	+153.9%
3	Computer parts, accessories	$14,320,643,000	-26.3%
4	Phone devices including smartphones	$12,994,169,000	+0.5%
5	Processed petroleum oils	$12,630,272,000	-24.5%
6	Unrecorded sound media	$7,228,091,000	-18%
7	Printed circuits	$4,985,595,000	-29.2%
8	Machinery for making semi-conductors	$4,757,783,000	-6.2%
9	Iron and steel screws, bolts, nuts, washers	$4,598,144,000	-24.9%
10	Solar power diodes/semi-conductors	$4,504,062,000	-21.8%
11	Automobile parts/accessories	$4,382,122,000	-21.7%
12	Flat panel displays	$4,293,038,000	+0%
13	Polyacetal/ether/carbonates	$3,705,260,000	-31.1%
14	Motorcycle parts/accessories	$3,162,533,000	-42.2%
15	Electrical converters/power units	$3,018,905,000	-1%
16	TV/radio/radar device parts	$2,862,219,000	-42.3%
17	Hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products	$2,623,849,000	-17.6%
18	Liquid crystal/laser/optical tools	$2,404,829,000	-53.8%
19	Styrene polymers	$2,184,315,000	-30.4%
20	Cyclic hydrocarbons	$2,164,323,000	-1.6%
21	Oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers	$2,141,557,000	+0%
22	Lenses, prisms, mirrors	$2,060,165,000	-5.8%
23	Lower-voltage switches, fuses	$1,812,780,000	-24.3%
24	Miscellaneous plastic items	$1,803,960,000	-12.8%
25	Optical fiber cables, sheets, plates	$1,803,066,000	-10.5%
26	Electrical capacitators	$1,792,116,000	-18.8%
27	Copper foil	$1,744,345,000	-23.4%
28	Taps, valves, similar appliances	$1,713,762,000	-5.7%
29	Electrical lighting/signaling equpment, defrosters	$1,668,687,000	-5.3%
30	Flat-rolled stainless steel items	$1,638,282,000	-37.4%
31	Sports equipment	$1,582,174,000	-24.3%
32	Transmission shafts, gears, clutches	$1,572,063,000	-25.7%
33	Flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products (plated/coated)	$1,517,461,000	-22%
34	TV receiver/transmit/digital cameras	$1,409,735,000	-8%
35	Motorcycles	$1,404,372,000	-22.7%
36	Bicycles, other non-motorized cycles	$1,394,930,000	-15.1%
37	Synthetic yarn woven fabrics	$1,321,273,000	-19.7%
38	Plastic plates, sheets, film, tape, strips	$1,301,374,000	-19.9%
39	Other measuring/testing machines	$1,274,679,000	-12%
40	Chemicals used in electronics	$1,269,051,000	-21.2%
41	Miscellaneous machinery	$1,267,102,000	-16.1%
42	Gold (unwrought)	$1,180,173,000	+9.7%
43	Polycarboxylic acids	$1,159,004,000	-22.7%
44	Air or vacuum pumps	$1,145,519,000	-14.9%
45	Ethylene polymers	$1,144,693,000	-26.5%
46	Vinyl chloride polymers	$1,120,616,000	-23.7%
47	Miscellaneous iron or steel items	$1,112,105,000	-19.1%
48	Chemical industry products/residuals	$1,042,857,000	-19.4%
49	Medication mixes in dosage	$1,036,982,000	+53.5%
50	Whole fish (frozen)	$1,015,775,000	-9%
51	Miscellaneous furniture	$1,006,080,000	-17.6%
52	Insulated wire/cable	$996,585,000	-17.8%
53	Other machine parts, accessories	$993,692,000	-16.9%
54	Special hand tools	$993,338,000	-17.3%
55	Synthetic rubber	$952,627,000	-22.9%
56	Copper ores, concentrates	$952,397,000	-41.5%
57	Base metal mountings, fittings	$951,196,000	-22.6%
58	Cars	$917,129,000	-6.8%
59	Plastic packing goods, lids, caps	$897,141,000	-13.4%
60	Turbo-jets	$872,836,000	+42.6%
61	Metal-working machinery	$871,053,000	-16.6%
62	Cold-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products	$861,536,000	-25.9%
63	Other than warp-knit fabrics	$853,118,000	-32.9%
64	Acyclic alcohols	$844,802,000	-38.6%
65	Electrical/optical circuit boards, panels	$831,491,000	-47%
66	Electric motors, generators	$811,811,000	-12%
67	Rubber/plastic article making machines	$806,984,000	-20.9%
68	Propylene/olefin polymers	$793,603,000	-24.1%
69	Hand-operated spanners, wrenches	$782,107,000	-7.7%
70	Electric storage batteries	$778,621,000	-22.2%
71	Electrical resistors	$776,074,000	-16.1%
72	Other food preparations	$773,691,000	-1.6%
73	Electrical machinery	$771,146,000	-24.8%
74	Self-adhesive plastic in rolls	$758,699,000	-14.3%
75	Electric circuit parts, fuses, switches	$717,743,000	-3.9%
76	Copper waste, scrap	$716,965,000	-11.3%
77	Centrifuges, filters and purifiers	$684,134,000	-11.3%
78	Rubber tires (new)	$680,513,000	-20.4%
79	Pneumatic hand tool	$665,178,000	-27%
80	TV receivers/monitors/projectors	$664,903,000	-14.8%
81	Miscellaneous iron or steel tubes, pipes	$652,871,000	-39.8%
82	Electro-medical equip (e.g. xrays)	$651,861,000	+0.1%
83	Metal-removing lathes	$651,064,000	-5.2%
84	Miscellaneous aluminum items	$634,391,000	-17.2%
85	Coated textile fabrics	$633,081,000	-19.6%
86	Electric sound/visual signal bells or alarms	$632,518,000	-25.4%
87	Synthetic filament yarn	$627,628,000	-27%
88	Liquid pumps and elevators	$615,286,000	-14.7%
89	Wide knit or crochet fabrics	$607,380,000	-31.6%
90	Flat-rolled other alloy steel products	$603,888,000	-20.3%
91	Plastic plates, sheets, film, tape, strips	$590,644,000	-14.4%
92	Locks, lock-keys	$589,689,000	-17.1%
93	Radar, radio communication items	$571,439,000	-14.8%
94	Acrylic polymers	$533,956,000	-18.8%
95	Silver (unwrought)	$528,543,000	+103.8%
96	Amino-resins	$524,361,000	-20.8%
97	Refined copper, unwrought alloys	$519,694,000	-7.4%
98	Prepared glues, other prepared adhesives	$509,552,000	-10.9%
99	Phenols/phenol-alcohols	$485,382,000	-30.6%
100	Printing machinery	$477,934,000	-13.2%

These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of US$380.7 billion or 88.1% by value for all products exported from Taiwan during 2023.

Fastest-growing among Taiwan’s 100 most valuable exported products were computers including optical readers (up 153.9% from 2022), unwrought silver (up 103.8%), medication mixes in dosage (up 53.5%) and turbo-jets (up 42.6%).

In macroeconomic terms, Taiwan’s total exported goods represent 25.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($1.685 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 25.6% for exports to overall GDP in PPP compares to 29.5% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Taiwan’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Also, please note that these metrics include re-exporting activity.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Taiwan’s unemployment rate averaged 3.66% for 2023, same as the average in 2022 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.

Taiwan’s capital city is Taipei.

See also Taiwan’s Top 10 Major Export Companies, Taiwan’s Top 10 Imports, Taiwan’s Top Trading Partners and China’s Top 10 Imports

Research Sources:
CEIC, The World Factbook Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on April 4, 2024

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 4, 2024

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 4, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 4, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 4, 2024

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 4, 2024

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Taiwan. Accessed on April 4, 2024

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 4, 2024

Zepol’s company summary highlights by country. Accessed on April 4, 2024