Capital City: Taipei
	It is %T:%M %A in Taipei

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Economic trends

Through nearly five decades of sound economic management, Taiwan has transformed itself from an underdeveloped, agricultural island to an economic power that is a leading producer of high-technology goods. The GDP growth rate reached 4.7% in 2006 and 4.1% in 2007. It is forecasted of 3.8% for 2008 by IMF. Depletion of public funds is the main weak spot of the economy. Consumer price inflation are weak (1.2% in 2007). The current-account surplus will narrow an average of 4.7% of GDP in 2008.

Main branches of industry

The agriculture sector contributes nearly 2% to the GDP. Taiwan's main crops are rice, sugarcane, fruit, and vegetables. Taiwan has limited natural resources. The manufacturing industry accounts for 50% of the GDP. Even though traditional industries such as iron and steel, chemical, mechanical still account for almost half the industrial production, but new industries are most dynamic. Taiwan is one of the largest suppliers of semi-conductors, computers and mobile phones in the world. Taiwan is world's largest supplier of computer monitors. Faced by a continuous relocation of labour-intensive industries to countries with cheaper work forces (especially China), Taiwan's future development will rely on further transformation to an advanced technology and service-oriented economy.

International trade

Taiwan's economy remains highly export-oriented. Hence it depends on an open world trade regime and remains vulnerable to downturns in the global economy. Taiwan is a member of the Asian Development Bank, the WTO, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Taiwan is also an observer at the OECD. Taiwan's top three export partners are: China, the USA, and Hong-Kong. Taiwan mainly exports electrical, electronic and computing equipment. Its top three import partners are: Japan, the USA and China. It mainly imports mineral fuels & oils, electric & electronic components, and raw materials. China (including Hong Kong) accounts for over 25% of Taiwan's total trade and almost 40% of Taiwan's exports. Trade with the EU accounts for less than 15% of the country’s total trade.