According to worldpopulationreview.com, Taiwan leads global semiconductor fabrication plant count with 79 plants in 2025 — the highest among all nations surveyed. This positions Taiwan ahead of Japan (96 plants), the United States (78 plants), China (77 plants), and Germany (20 plants). The data covers 468 total fabrication plants across 34 countries and territories, including Singapore (17 plants), South Korea (16 plants), and Russia (15 plants).
Taiwan Dominates Foundry Output
Taiwan’s manufacturing dominance stems largely from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which alone produces approximately 50% of the world’s semiconductors. Unlike integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) such as Samsung or Intel, TSMC operates exclusively on a foundry model — manufacturing chips for third-party clients including Apple, AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. As of 2021, Taiwan held the largest share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity, though exact percentage figures are not specified in the source beyond its top-ranked plant count.
South Korea: Export Powerhouse
South Korea’s semiconductor sector is anchored by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Collectively, their 70+ fabrication plants produce chips that constituted 15% of South Korea’s total exports in 2021. Samsung functions both as an IDM and a foundry, enabling dual-revenue streams from internal product integration and external contract manufacturing.
Japan and the U.S.: Capacity vs. Market Share
Japan hosts 96 semiconductor fabrication plants, many owned by Japanese, American, or Taiwanese firms. Meanwhile, the United States held 12% of global chip manufacturing capacity in 2021 — down from 37% in 1990. Despite this decline in physical production share, U.S.-based companies commanded 46.3% of the total global semiconductor market share in 2021. Semiconductor exports contributed $62 billion USD to the U.S. economy that year — exceeding exports of every product except refined oil, aircraft, crude oil, and natural gas.
Global Distribution and Process Technology
The report distinguishes between advanced and mature semiconductor manufacturing processes. Advanced nodes refer to ≤16/14 nanometer (nm) technology, while mature processes are defined as 28 nm or larger. Mature-node chips power cost-sensitive applications like home appliances and fitness trackers. Europe’s semiconductor industry held a 12.7% market share in 2024, per the source. Other notable national counts include Malaysia (10 plants), France and Israel (5 plants each), India and the Netherlands (4 plants each), and Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, and Ireland (3 plants each).
Source: worldpopulationreview.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
