After a 30-year hiatus, Taiwan's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics released new statistics on April 29 about the household wealth distribution, revealing a stark increase in the wealth gap.
Taiwan's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics' latest figures indicate that the poorest 20% of households hold less than 1% of total wealth, while the top 20% account for 62.7%. Over the past 30 years, Taiwan's wealth gap has surged from 16.8 times to nearly 67 times, with the wealthiest 20% of households now possessing assets exceeding NT$50 million (US$1,533,141), while the poorest 20% hold only NT$770,000 (US$23,611).
However, in neighboring South Korea, the disparity exceeds 140 times, and in countries like Australia and the UK, it's 93 and nearly 110 times respectively, with France at an astonishing 627 times. Compared to these figures, Taiwan's wealth distribution remains relatively equitable.
Darson Chiu (邱達生), a researcher at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, noted that the widening wealth gap is a common trend in developed countries, exacerbated by advances in information technology. This was especially noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic when the tech industry benefited significantly from remote work opportunities.
Experts also highlight that the bottom 20% of households have an average debt of NT$4.05 million (US$124,184), possibly due to home loans and investments in financial assets. This is significantly higher than the national average of NT$2.2 million (US$67,458).
While Taiwan still maintains a more balanced wealth distribution, the local real estate market, however, shows signs of escalating inequality especially in Taipei City. One in five small homes (under 20 ping or about 66 square meters) hit a new high, with prices over NT$1 million (US$30,663) per unit in the first quarter of this year.
Given the present day’s conditions, how the younger generation will rise up to face these economic challenges remains to be seen.
