Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market economy. It enjoys an open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries. Unemployment is very low. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly of electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, medical and optical devices, pharmaceuticals, and on Singapore’s vibrant transportation, business, and financial services sectors.
The economy contracted 0.6% in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but has continued to grow since 2010. Growth from 2012-2017 was slower than during the previous decade, a result of slowing structural growth - as Singapore reached high-income levels - and soft global demand for exports. Growth recovered to 3.6% in 2017 with a strengthening global economy.
The government is attempting to restructure Singapore’s economy to reduce its dependence on foreign labor, raise productivity growth, and increase wages amid slowing labor force growth and an aging population. Singapore has attracted major investments in advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and medical technology production and will continue efforts to strengthen its position as Southeast Asia's leading financial and technology hub. Singapore is a signatory of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and a party to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations with nine other ASEAN members plus Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. In 2015, Singapore formed, with the other ASEAN members, the ASEAN Economic Community.
0.73% (2019 est.)
3.48% (2018 est.)
4.34% (2017 est.)
0.5% (2019 est.)
0.4% (2018 est.)
0.5% (2017 est.)
Fitch rating: AAA (2003)
Moody's rating: Aaa (2002)
Standard & Poors rating: AAA (1995)
$555.193 billion (2019 est.)
$551.152 billion (2018 est.)
$532.832 billion (2017 est.)
note: data are in 2010 dollars
$372.088 billion (2019 est.)
$97,341 (2019 est.)
$97,745 (2018 est.)
$94,941 (2017 est.)
note: data are in 2010 dollars
42.8% of GDP (2019 est.)
43.9% of GDP (2018 est.)
45.4% of GDP (2017 est.)
agriculture: 0% (2017 est.)
industry: 24.8% (2017 est.)
services: 75.2% (2017 est.)
household consumption: 35.6% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 10.9% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 24.8% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 2.8% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 173.3% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -149.1% (2017 est.)
Overall score: 86.2 (2020)
Starting a Business score: 98.2 (2020)
Trading score: 89.6 (2020)
Enforcement score: 84.5 (2020)
poultry, eggs, vegetables, pork, duck meat, spinach, pig offals, bird eggs, pig fat, cabbages
electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, biomedical products, scientific instruments, telecommunication equipment, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, entrepot trade
5.7% (2017 est.)
3.778 million (2019 est.)
note: excludes non-residents
agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 25.6%
services: 73.7% (2017)
note: excludes non-residents
2.25% (2019 est.)
2.1% (2018 est.)
N/A
45.9 (2017)
45.8 (2016)
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 27.5% (2017)
revenues: 50.85 billion (2017 est.)
expenditures: 51.87 billion (2017 est.)
note: expenditures include both operational and development expenditures
15.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
-0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
111.1% of GDP (2017 est.)
106.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
note: Singapore's public debt consists largely of Singapore Government Securities (SGS) issued to assist the Central Provident Fund (CPF), which administers Singapore's defined contribution pension fund; special issues of SGS are held by the CPF, and are non-tradable; the government has not borrowed to finance deficit expenditures since the 1980s; Singapore has no external public debt
1 April - 31 March
$63.109 billion (2019 est.)
$64.042 billion (2018 est.)
$626.68 billion (2019 est.)
$636.565 billion (2018 est.)
$588.576 billion (2017 est.)
China 15%, Hong Kong 13%, Malaysia 9%, United States 8%, Indonesia 7%, India 5% (2019)
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, gold, gas turbines, packaged medicines (2019)
$533.478 billion (2019 est.)
$542.802 billion (2018 est.)
$505.736 billion (2017 est.)
China 16%, Malaysia 11%, United States 9%, Taiwan 7%, Japan 5%, Indonesia 5% (2019)
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, gold, gas turbines (2019)
$279.9 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$271.8 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$1,557,646,000,000 (2019 est.)
$1,528,177,000,000 (2018 est.)
Singapore dollars (SGD) per US dollar -
1.33685 (2020 est.)
1.35945 (2019 est.)
1.3699 (2018 est.)
1.3748 (2014 est.)
1.2671 (2013 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Singapore on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Singapore 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Singapore 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 16 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.