Key Findings
- Taiwan’s median household net worth is NT$8.94 million (~US$275,000); the mean is NT$16.38 million (~US$504,000) — the mean is 83% higher than the median, reflecting a long right tail of wealthy households (DGBAS Household Wealth Distribution Statistics, year-end 2021 data).
- The top 10% threshold for household net worth is NT$33.91 million (~US$1.04 million).
- Taiwan’s official decile data was published in April 2024 — the government’s first household wealth distribution release in roughly 30 years, and it remains the only official decile breakdown to date.
- A newer aggregate series (National Wealth Statistics) puts average household net worth at NT$18.89 million (~US$581,000) at year-end 2023, up 6.56% year-on-year, a record high.
- In international comparison (UBS Global Wealth Report), Taiwan’s wealth per adult is about US$333,000 (16th worldwide), median wealth per adult about US$113,000, with roughly 772,000 US-dollar millionaires (end of 2025). Financial assets make up 80.8% of Taiwanese household wealth, among the top two globally.
The official decile table (household net worth)
Taiwan’s Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) published the Household Wealth Distribution Statistics in April 2024, based on year-end 2021 data. Net worth is defined as total assets minus total liabilities, including real estate. The table below shows the threshold value at each decile boundary (D1–D9):
| Decile boundary | Household net worth (NT$) | Approx. USD |
|---|---|---|
| D1 (10%) | 1.43 million | 44,000 |
| D2 (20%) | 3.19 million | 98,000 |
| D3 (30%) | 5.05 million | 155,000 |
| D4 (40%) | 7.09 million | 218,000 |
| D5 (50%, median) | 8.94 million | 275,000 |
| D6 (60%) | 11.00 million | 338,000 |
| D7 (70%) | 14.60 million | 449,000 |
| D8 (80%) | 21.00 million | 646,000 |
| D9 (90%) | 33.91 million | 1.04 million |
Mean household net worth in the same release: NT$16.38 million (~US$504,000).
Mean vs. median: why the gap matters
The mean (NT$16.38 million) sits between the D7 and D8 boundaries — meaning roughly 70% of Taiwanese households hold less than the “average” household wealth. Wealth in Taiwan, as elsewhere, follows a long-tailed distribution: a small number of very wealthy households pull the mean far above the median. For locating a typical household, the median (NT$8.94 million) is the meaningful number.
Individual (per-person) view
Taiwan publishes no official individual wealth deciles. A structural approximation divides household figures by the average household size of about 2.7 persons (a long-run DGBAS population figure). On that basis, the individual median is roughly NT$3.31 million (~US$102,000) and the individual D9 threshold roughly NT$12.56 million (~US$386,000). This is a positioning tool, not an official statistic — see Wealth Thresholds in Taiwan for the full converted table and its limitations.
Is the 2021 data still current?
The decile table has not been updated since its release. Two points of calibration:
| Statistic | Reference year | Average household net worth |
|---|---|---|
| Household Wealth Distribution Statistics (source of the deciles) | Year-end 2021 | NT$16.38 million |
| National Wealth Statistics | Year-end 2023 | NT$18.89 million (+6.56%, record high) |
The ~NT$2.5 million gap reflects both the reference-year difference (Taiwan’s stock market rose substantially between 2021 and 2023) and methodological differences (the distribution statistics combine survey sampling with administrative big data; the national wealth statistics are derived from aggregate accounts). By year-end 2024, total household-sector net worth reached NT$183.7 trillion, with securities holdings growing more than 20% in a year. A rough scaling factor of ~1.15 (18.89 ÷ 16.38) can be applied to the 2021 decile thresholds as a structural approximation of current levels — not an official figure.
International comparison (UBS Global Wealth Report)
Per the UBS Global Wealth Report (whole-population statistics covering 56 markets):
- Taiwan wealth per adult: ~US$333,000, ranked 16th globally
- Taiwan median wealth per adult: ~US$113,000
- US-dollar millionaires in Taiwan: ~772,000 (end of 2025, +9,864 in one year)
- Financial assets account for 80.8% of Taiwanese household wealth — among the top two globally, making Taiwan one of the most financially intermediated household balance sheets in the world
Note the denominator difference: UBS counts individuals (per adult, net worth including property); the DGBAS deciles count households. The two cannot be mixed in a single comparison.
Related pages: Wealth Thresholds in Taiwan · Taiwan’s NT$100 Million+ Wealthy Population
Methodology & Sources
- Primary source: DGBAS (Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Taiwan), Household Wealth Distribution Statistics, published April 2024, data as of year-end 2021; compiled from Family Income and Expenditure Survey samples combined with administrative asset/liability data. Net worth = total assets − total liabilities, including real estate.
- Secondary calibration: DGBAS National Wealth Statistics (year-end 2023 and 2024 aggregates).
- International figures: UBS Global Wealth Report (2026 edition, whole-population methodology).
- Currency conversion: NT$ figures converted at approximately US$1 = NT$32.5 (rate basis used in the underlying Chinese articles, mid-2026); rounded. Conversions are approximate and for orientation only.
- This page is an English-language digest of research originally published in Chinese on joelin.cc, principally the articles at joelin.cc/p/8323 (decile analysis), /p/8419 (Taiwan wealth report series hub), and /p/9357 (comparison of nine global and Taiwanese wealth reports).
How to cite this page
Lin, Joe. “Taiwan Household Wealth Distribution: Official Deciles, Mean vs. Median.” joelin.cc, 2026. https://joelin.cc/en/taiwan-household-wealth-distribution
This is an English reference adaptation of original Chinese research onjoelin.cc.