It was analyzed that in 2020, sales of semiconductor equipment in Korea grew significantly, increasing by 61% year-on-year.

According to the latest Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) from SEMI, an industry association representing the global electronics industry supply chain, global semiconductor equipment sales in 2020 reached $71.2 billion, a 19% increase from $59.8 billion in 2019.

China's semiconductor equipment sales increased by about 39% last year to $18.72 billion, making it the world's largest semiconductor equipment investment region.

Taiwan, which ranked second, maintained its growth level in 2020 after showing strong growth in 2019.

South Korea followed with the highest growth rate among all regions worldwide, growing by a whopping 61% to $16.08 billion.

Japan and Europe grew by 21% and 16% respectively, while North America, after three consecutive years of growth, fell by 20% last year.

Among the global semiconductor front-end equipment sales in 2020, wafer equipment sales increased by approximately 1% compared to 2019.Sales of other pre-process equipment increased by 9%, while sales of other pre-process equipment increased by 4%.

The post-processing sector also saw strong growth last year. In 2020, sales of assembly and packaging equipment increased by 34% compared to 2019, and sales of test equipment increased by 20%.

Based on data provided by SEMI member companies and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ), the Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) report summarizes monthly sales figures for the global semiconductor equipment industry, covering wafer processing, assembly and packaging, test, and other front-end processing areas (mask/reticle manufacturing, wafer fabrication, and fab facility equipment). Further details about the report can be found on the SEMI website.