Taiwan’s economy grows 14% in first half of 2026, fastest since 1976

Taiwan just posted economic numbers that look like a typo. GDP grew by 13.72% in the first half of 2026, a pace the island nation hasn’t seen in roughly half a century. For context, most developed economies celebrate when they crack 3%. The engine behind this surge isn’t a mystery. It’s artificial intelligence, and specifically, the semiconductors that power it. Taiwan sits at the center of the global AI hardware supply chain, and right now that’s the most lucrative place on Earth to be. The numbers behind the boom Q1 2026 GDP came in at 14.55% year-on-year, marking the strongest quarterly growth since Q3 1978. That’s an acceleration from the already eye-popping 12.95% recorded in Q4 2025. Exports tell an even wilder story. Goods and services exports surged 35.76% in Q1 2026. Taiwan is one of Asia’s most trade-dependent economies, and when the world wants what you’re selling, the math gets very favorable very fast. The government has been scrambling to update its own projections. In May, Taiwan’s official full-year 2026 GDP forecast was revised upward to 9.64%, a significant jump from the 7.71% estimate issued in February. Academia Sinica went even further in July, lifting its 2026...