Taiwan plunged into recession as the economy contracted a record 8.36 percent in the three months to December due to the global economic meltdown, the government said Wednesday. The island's key electronics and export sectors have been badly hit by falling overseas demand.
The figure "marked the biggest slump since 1961" when the government started compiling quarterly figures, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said in a statement. The agency had previously forecast a contraction of 1.73 percent in fourth quarter gross domestic product, and blamed the global economic turmoil which has hit the important export sector.
The export sector, the primary engine of Taiwan's economy, tumbled 19.75 percent while imports fell 22.63 percent. The island's economy contracted a revised 1.05 percent in the third quarter, down from 1.02 percent when the figures were first released in November. For the full-year 2008, GDP edged up 0.12 percent while per capita GDP came in at 17,576 US dollars.
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