Good to know
Good to Know
- Taipei's city population is slowly declining as younger residents move to New Taipei for lower costs, though the metro area remains stable and growing.
- Foreign-born residents in Taipei (roughly 2%) are concentrated in specific districts; largest communities from Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines).
- Startup ecosystem is vibrant and well-supported: Taiwan Startup Terrace offers subsidized co-working and mentorship; government grants and tax incentives available for R&D.
- Engineer salaries and office costs are significantly lower than regional hubs (Singapore, Hong Kong), making Taipei attractive for tech expansion.
- TSMC's dominance (63% global semiconductor share) makes Taiwan a critical node in global supply chains; AI, semiconductors, and biotech are growth sectors.
- Mix of local Taiwanese (Hoklo, Mainlander, Hakka) and growing immigrant communities creates a multicultural city with Southeast Asian cultural influence.
Ethnic Composition
- Hakka
- Growing population (last 20 years)
- Aboriginal
- ~13,000 (mostly in suburbs)
- Mainlanders Hoklos
- Majority of population
- Note
- Han Taiwanese comprise 95-97% of Taiwan's population nationally
Notable Nationalities
Vietnam
- Description
- Largest foreign-born group in Taipei
Indonesia
- Description
- Second largest foreign-born group; also largest foreign resident group nationwide
Philippines
- Description
- Third largest foreign-born group in Taipei
Business Tech Presence
- Talent Pool
- World-class engineers from top universities; bilingual (Mandarin/English) workforce
- Cost Advantage
- Office rents 2-3x lower than Singapore/Hong Kong; skilled engineer salaries average 2200-2800 USD/month vs 4000+ in Singapore
- Government Support
- Taiwan Startup Terrace helped 160+ startups by 2019; Over TWD 60 billion invested in youth entrepreneurship
- International Presence
- 413 startup teams from 19 countries at Meet Taipei 2025; attracts startups from Japan, Canada, USA; ranks 4th in East Asia startup ecosystem
Key Sectors
- Artificial Intelligence
- Cybersecurity
- Web3/Blockchain
- Semiconductors
- Biotech
- Green Energy
- IoT & Smart Manufacturing
Notable Companies
- TSMC (63% global semiconductor market share)
- Appier (AI-driven marketing, unicorn status)
- Gogoro (electric vehicles)
- Acer (consumer electronics)
- TXOne Networks (cybersecurity, 144.9M funding)
- MaiCoin Group (cryptocurrency exchange)
Startup Ecosystem
- Growth
- 4% in 2025
- Total Funding
- NT$25,815,040,000
- Ranking Global
- 54th globally
- Startup Count Taipei
- 837
Major Tech Initiatives
- Taiwan Startup Terrace (government co-working & acceleration)
- Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) - government-backed platform
- Asia Silicon Valley Development Plan
Taipei City Population
- Year
- 2026
- Population
- 2431249
- Metro Population
- 2779000
- Note
- City proper experiencing slight decline as population shifts to surrounding New Taipei; metro area stable
Foreign Born Percentage
- Taipei City
- approximately 2.1%
- Taiwan National
- 4.1%
- Note
- Based on ~52,000 foreign-born in Taipei city (2026 est.) vs 2.43M population; lower concentration than national average
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this local demographics research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Taipei
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.