TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan continued to lead in IC wafer production capacity throughout 2018 with a 21.8 percent share of the world's total.

The country was trailed by South Korea, which accounted for 21.3 percent according to a report released by market research firm IC Insights.

Taiwan rose to its current status as the global wafer capacity leader in 2015, and continued to maintain the position in 2018 with a 21.8 percent share (4.126 million wafers) of the global total—a 0.5 percent rise from its 2017 share, according to the Global Wafer Capacity 2019-2023 report.

Taiwan’s TSMC, and South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix, were ranked the top three wafer fabrication plants worldwide. TSMC was responsible for 67 percent of Taiwan’s total capacity, while Samsung and SK Hynix made up a combined 94 percent of the installed IC wafer capacity of South Korea.

Japan retained its status as the third wafer capacity leader in 2018 with 16.8 percent of the global total, while North America’s share declined 0.4 percentage points to 12.8 percent.

China posted the largest increase in global wafer capacity share in 2018, up from 10.8 percent in 2017 to 12.5 percent. IC Insights attributed the increase to the expanded presence of global semiconductor manufacturers in China, as well as the Chinese government’s effort to boost its self-reliance in the industry last year.