Taiwanese household wealth climbed to a record high in 2024, lifted by a sharp rally in equities and a buoyant property market, even as debt grew at its fastest pace in five years, data released yesterday by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed.
Household net worth reached NT$183.7 trillion (US$5.82 trillion) at the end of 2024, up 7.35 percent from a year earlier, marking one of the strongest gains in three years, the agency said. The increase reflected broad-based growth across financial assets and real estate holdings, it said.
Overall national wealth also expanded, with gross national wealth enlarging 3.2 percent to NT$330.11 trillion, while net national wealth increased 2.7 percent to NT$258.97 trillion, showing steady growth in financial positions across the economy, DGBAS data showed.
Photo: AFP, I-Hwa Cheng
The agency attributed the gains to stronger-than-expected economic performance, with Taiwan’s economy growing 5.27 percent in 2024, alongside a powerful surge in financial markets.
The TAIEX jumped 28 percent that year, supported by robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and high-performance computing, which has reinforced Taiwan’s role in the global semiconductor supply chain, the agency said.
The DGBAS said the technology sector was a key driver of wealth creation. Continued investment in advanced chip manufacturing and packaging capacity helped bolster the value of productive assets, further strengthening corporate and household balance sheets tied to the industry, it said.
Financial assets led the increase in household wealth, the agency said. Securities holdings rose to NT$37.28 trillion, a five-year high, surging 21.76 percent year-on-year, which the agency said were largely driven by technology shares linked to AI-related demand.
Other financial assets also expanded in 2024, with life insurance reserves, pension assets and bank deposits together adding more than NT$10 trillion in value, reflecting broad-based accumulation of financial wealth across households, it said.
Meanwhile, real estate remained a cornerstone of household balance sheets, with housing assets valued at NT$55.03 trillion to account for about 30 percent of net worth, it added.
The DGBAS said that supportive housing policies — including low interest rates and extended grace periods for first-home buyers — helped sustain momentum in the property market.
However, rising asset values were accompanied by a faster buildup in liabilities. Household debt climbed 11.88 percent to NT$24.73 trillion, the biggest jump in five years. Mortgage lending accounted for the bulk of the increase, with housing-related loans reaching NT$23.91 trillion amid strong property financing demand.
While property remains the largest single asset class, its share of household wealth is gradually being overtaken by financial instruments. Financial assets accounted for about 67 percent of net worth, reflecting a structural shift in investment behavior as exchange-traded funds and other low-cost instruments gain popularity among Taiwanese investors.
The DGBAS did not release average household wealth figures for 2024, but said future reports would include the average and median measures, which are due in April 2028, to give a clearer view of inequality trends.
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