Taiwan is ranked second in the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s (GEM) National Entrepreneurial Context Index (NECI), which assesses the startup business environment in different countries.
In its 2025-2026 global report released on Friday, the GEM, which collects data directly from entrepreneurs, said Taiwan’s score in the NECI rose from 6.3 in 2024 to 6.5 in last year, making it second highest among the 53 participating economies.
In the rankings, Taiwan trailed the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which scored 7.0 in the latest listing, which evaluates the strength of entrepreneurial framework conditions across participating economies.
Photo: AP
“This places [Taiwan] second out of 53 GEM economies globally, improving on its already strong position from the previous year,” the report showed. “These consistently high NECI scores reflect Taiwan’s robust infrastructure, government support and strong cultural norms supporting entrepreneurship.”
According to the GEM, Saudi Arabia came in third, followed by Lithuania and India. Among other major Asian economies, South Korea ranked eighth and Japan 17th. The US was 20th and Germany was 24th.
In a statement, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration (SMESA) said the ranking highlights the fact that the local startup business environment is world-class.
Citing the GEM report, the SMESA said Taiwan is one of only four economies in the world to secure an “Excellent” in two categories — new and growing business prioritization of sustainability and entrepreneurial awareness of the need to develop and implement AI solutions. The others are the UAE, Norway and Sweden.
The improvements in the two subindices indicate that Taiwan’s enterprises understand the need for AI applications and sustainability, the SMESA said.
Based on the structure of the local startup sector, individuals aged 35-64 accounted for more than two-thirds of startup owners, indicating the sector is steady and mature, the SMESA added.
These owners established a sound industrial and technology foundation before starting their own businesses, and their experiences are expected to raise the survival rate and boost the long-term growth potential of their businesses, it said.
Amid the restructuring of global supply chains and escalating geopolitical unease, the second place ranking in the latest NECI shows Taiwan has a resilient startup business ecosystem, the SMESA said.
The government continues to help enterprises seek more funding, while optimizing local legal mechanisms and the investment environment, strengthening international cooperation and building closer ties with global markets, the agency said.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday bestowed one of Taiwan’s highest honors on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman in recognition of her contributions to bilateral ties. “By conferring the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Ambassador Bowman today, I want to sincerely thank her, on behalf of the Taiwanese people, for her outstanding contribution to deepening diplomatic ties between Taiwan and SVG,” Lai said at a ceremony held at the Presidential Office in Taipei. He noted that Bowman became SVG’s first ambassador to Taiwan in 2019 and
A man walks past elementary school artworks at the Taipei Lantern Festival in Ximen District yesterday, the first day of the event. The festival is to run from 5pm to 10pm through March 15.
RSS