Average annual household savings totaled NT$275,402 (US$8,601) last year, the highest in history, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) data showed.
Average disposable income per household last year was NT$1.14 million, up 2.5 percent from the year before, while the median disposable income was up 2.2 percent to NT$961,000, data showed.
Disposable income per person was up 4 percent to NT$407,000 on average, while the median was up 3.7 percent to NT$349,000.
Photo: Taipei Times
Household savings totaled NT$275,402 on average last year, up by NT$1,370 from 2022, marking a record high.
Low-income households, meaning those in the lowest 20 percent of earners, still spent more than their income for the 17th consecutive year.
However, the amount was the lowest in 15 years at NT$16,626.
Annual household savings data do not include real estate, stocks or previous savings, meaning that dissaving does not necessarily equate to poverty, the DGBAS said.
Most of the households in the lowest income bracket have few people and their members are older, with more than 60 percent older than 65, a DGBAS official said.
As they have limited income and regular daily expenses, it is easy for these households to fall into dissaving, they said.
However, the other income brackets all saw positive savings last year, they added.
A tropical depression in waters east of the Philippines could develop into a tropical storm as soon as today and bring rainfall as it approaches, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, while issuing heat warnings for 14 cities and counties. Weather model simulations show that there are still considerable differences in the path that the tropical depression is projected to take. It might pass through the Bashi Channel to the South China Sea or turn northeast and move toward the sea south of Japan, CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said, adding that the uncertainty of its movement is still high,
TAIWANESE INNOVATION: The ‘Seawool’ fabric generates about NT$200m a year, with the bulk of it sourced by clothing brands operating in Europe and the US Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusk farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool.” Wang remembered that residents of his seaside hometown of Yunlin County used discarded oyster shells that littered the streets during the harvest as insulation for their homes. “They burned the shells and painted the residue on the walls. The houses then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” the 42-year-old said at his factory in Tainan. “So I was
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
Discounted 72-hour Taipei Metro passes are to be offered to China Airlines passengers until Feb. 28 next year, the airline announced today. China Airlines passengers may present their boarding pass for a discount of up to 34 percent when buying a Taipei Metro 72-hour unlimited travel pass. The offer is available to international travelers on international flights bound for Taipei. Within seven days of arrival, travelers can present their boarding pass, passport and proof of flight payment at an EZfly counter in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport or Taoyuan MRT Taipei Main Station to obtain the discounted passes, the airline said. One 72-hour pass
RSS