Taiwan Widens GDP Per Capita Lead Over South Korea on AI Boom

Taiwan and South Korea both built their economies around export-led manufacturing, but their growth paths have increasingly diverged. Taiwan’s strength in semiconductor foundry services, advanced packaging and AI servers has positioned it to capture surging global spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The resulting gains have made GDP per capita a closely watched measure of how industrial structure is shaping competitiveness and income growth in the two Asian technology powerhouses.

South Korean media reported that the country’s GDP per capita is projected to approach $40,000 in 2026, still trailing Taiwan’s revised estimate of $45,610. The widening gap reflects Taiwan’s stronger exposure to fast-growing AI hardware demand, including chips and servers. Experts said South Korea would need to expand investment in semiconductor foundry operations and packaging capacity if it is to narrow Taiwan’s lead and secure a larger share of the AI supply chain.