A partially recognized state in East Asia and officially named the Republic of China, Taiwan shipped US$474.3 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2024.

That dollar amount results from a 36.8% advance compared to $346.6 billion five years earlier during 2020.

Year over year, the overall value of goods shipped by Taiwan rose by 9.5% from $433 billion in 2023.

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 over a third (34.7%) of the total shipments by value from Taiwan, Province of China.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2024 on a Purchasing Power Parity basis, the New Taiwan Dollar depreciated by -2.8% from 2023 to 2024. Taiwan’s weaker local currency makes Taiwanese exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting from US currency.

Taiwan’s Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 87.1% of products exported from Taiwan was bought by importers in: United States of America (23.5% of the Taiwanese total), mainland China (20.4%), Hong Kong (11.3%), Singapore (7.1%), Japan (5.4%), South Korea (4.4%), Malaysia (4.2%), Vietnam (3%), Thailand (2.5%), Netherlands (2%), Mexico (1.7%) and India (also 1.7%).

From a continental perspective, 63.7% of Taiwan’s exports by value was delivered to fellow Asian countries while 25.8% was sold to importers in North America. Taiwan shipped another 8.2% worth of goods to buyers in Europe.

Smaller percentages went to customers in Oceania (1.4%) led by Australia and New Zealand, Latin America (0.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Africa (0.4%).

Given Taiwan’s population of 23.32 million people, its total $474.3 billion in 2024 exports translates to $20,300 for every resident in the East Asian province. That dollar metric surpasses the average $18,300 for one year earlier in 2023.

Taiwan’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Taiwanese global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Taiwan.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: US$224 billion (47.2% of total exports)
2. Machinery including computers: $123.1 billion (26%)
3. Plastics, plastic articles: $17.1 billion (3.6%)
4. Mineral fuels including oil: $12.7 billion (2.7%)
5. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $11.2 billion (2.4%)
6. Vehicles: $10 billion (2.1%)
7. Iron, steel: $8.7 billion (1.8%)
8. Organic chemicals: $7.9 billion (1.7%)
9. Articles of iron or steel: $7.4 billion (1.6%)
10. Copper: $4.6 billion (1%)

Taiwan’s top 10 export product categories generated 90% of the overall value of Taiwanese shipments.

Machinery including computers was the strongest gainer among the top 10 export categories, up by 58.6% from 2023 to 2024.

In second place was copper exported from Taiwan via a 12.8% gain.

The other product category to record an advance was machinery including computers, growing by a tepid 0.5%.

The leading decliners among Taiwan’s top 10 export categories were optical, technical and medical apparatus (down -13.1% from 2023) then vehicles (down -12.8%).

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 below.

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 2024. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2023.

These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of US$423.8 billion or 89.4% by value for all products exported from Taiwan during 2024.

Products Generating Taiwan’s Best Trade Surpluses

Taiwan generated an overall US$80.5 billion trade surplus from all goods bought and sold on international markets during 2024, expanding by 8.4% from the $74.3 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2023.

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$90.8 billion (Down by -21.2% since 2023)
2. Machinery including computers: $67.4 billion (Up by 201.4%)
3. Plastics, plastic articles: $9.1 billion (Down by -11.4%)
4. Articles of iron or steel: $4.4 billion (Down by -21.7%)
5. Base metal tools, cutlery: $2.4 billion (Down by -1.8%)
6. Knit or crochet fabric: $1.8 billion (Up by 9.3%)
7. Manmade filaments: $1.7 billion (Down by -0.2%)
8. Other base metal goods: $1.5 billion (Up by 5.8%)
9. Toys, games: $1.2 billion (Down by -7%)
10. Rubber, rubber articles: $1.1 billion (Up by 4.7%)

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$40.7 billion (Down by -6.9% since 2023)
2. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$5.2 billion (Up by 89.9%)
3. Pharmaceuticals: -$4.8 billion (Up by 6.7%)
4. Aircraft, spacecraft: -$3.1 billion (Up by 35.2%)
5. Copper: -$3 billion (Up by 106.9%)
6. Gems, precious metals: -$3 billion (Up by 91.1%)
7. Other chemical goods: -$2.8 billion (Up by 1%)
8. Ores, slag, ash: -$2.6 billion (Up by 9.5%)
9. Meat: -$2 billion (Down by -3.9%)
10. Oil seeds: -$1.7 billion (Down by -13.5%)

Taiwan has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels-related products historically 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)

 

In macroeconomic terms, Taiwan’s total exported goods represent 25.7% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($1.843 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 25.7% for exports to overall GDP in PPP compares to 25.6% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a slightly growing 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 3.67% for 2024, same as the average 3.67% in 2023 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 March 24, 2025

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 24, 2025

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 24, 2025

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 24, 2025

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 24, 2025

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on March 24, 2025

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Taiwan. Accessed on March 24, 2025

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on March 24, 2025

X-rates.com, Exchange Rates: New Taiwan Dollar to US Dollar (monthly average 2024). Accessed on March 24, 2025

Zepol’s company summary highlights by country. Accessed on March 24, 2025