TAIPEI, June 20, 2009 (AFP) - The richest families in Taiwan earn 62 times more than the poorest five percent - a record gap in income levels, a report citing government figures said Saturday.

The bottom five percent reported an average annual income of 69,000 Taiwan dollars (2,156 US) in 2007, compared with 4.28 million dollars earned by the top five percent, the China Times said.

The report cited income tax filings of 5.37 million households, which showed that the gap had continued to widen as the island's economy has flagged in recent years.

The richest families earned 32 times more than the poorest in 1998 while the gap widened to 42 times in 2001, it said.

Taiwan plunged into recession last year amid falling exports and rising unemployment due to the global financial crisis.

The economy shrunk by a record 10.24 percent in the first quarter of this year after an 8.61 percent dive in the previous three months to December. The key export sector fell 31.4 percent year-on-year to 16.17 billion US dollars in May on dwindling overseas demand.