The Taiwanese economy advanced 1.71 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, slightly below an advance estimate of 1.72 percent and compared to an upwardly revised 1.8 percent expansion in the prior period. It was weakest growth rate since Q2 2016. Gross capital formation went up 6.9 percent, slowing from 9.32 percent in the prior quarter, on lower investment in transportation equipment and changes in inventories. Also, private consumption grew 1.32 percent, easing from 1.46 percent, mainly due to sales of autos, information & communication technology equipment, and financial services and government spending shrank 3.31 percent, after expanding 4.11 percent. Net trade contributed negatively to the GDP as exports increased 0.97 percent (vs 1.63 percent in Q4), due to the global economic growth slowdown, and the high base in the same period of 2018 and imports rose 1.13 percent (vs 4.61 percent in Q4). On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the economy grew 0.58 percent. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Taiwan averaged 6.74 percent from 1962 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 17.06 percent in the third quarter of 1978 and a record low of -8.12 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
GDP Annual Growth Rate in Taiwan is expected to be 1.80 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate GDP Annual Growth Rate in Taiwan to stand at 2.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Taiwan GDP Annual Growth Rate is projected to trend around 1.50 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.