Economy - overview Singapore has an open economy with strong service and manufacturing sectors and excellent international trading links derived from its entrepot history. Extraordinarily strong fundamentals allowed Singapore to weather the effects of the Asian financial crisis better than its neighbors, but the crisis did pull GDP growth down to approximately 6% in 1997. Projections for 1998 GDP growth are in the 4.5% to 6.5% range. Rising labor costs and appreciation of the Singapore dollar against its neighbors' currencies continue to be a threat to Singapore's competitiveness. The government's strategy to address this problem includes increasing productivity, improving infrastructure, and encouraging higher value-added industries. In applied technology, per capita output, investment, and labor discipline, Singapore has key attributes of a developed country.

GDP purchasing power parity - $84.6 billion (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 6% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $24,600 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: NEGL%
industry: 28%
services: 72%

Inflation rate - consumer price index 1.8% (1997 est.)

Labor force
total: 1.856 million (1997 est.)
by occupation: financial, business, and other services 33.5%, manufacturing 25.6%, commerce 22.9%, construction 6.6%, other 11.4% (1994)

Unemployment rate 3% (1997 est.)

Budget
revenues: $16.3 billion
expenditures: $13.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY97/98 est.)

Industries electronics, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, entrepot trade, biotechnology

Industrial production growth rate 7% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity 4.513 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production 21 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 7,234 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products rubber, copra, fruit, vegetables; poultry

Exports
total value: $125.6 billion (1997 est.)
commodities: computer equipment, rubber and rubber products, petroleum products, telecommunications equipment
partners: Malaysia 19%, US 18%, Hong Kong 9%, Japan 8%, Thailand 6% (1995)

Imports
total value: $133.9 billion (1997 est.)
commodities: aircraft, petroleum, chemicals, foodstuffs
partners: Japan 21%, Malaysia 15%, US 15%, Thailand 5%, Taiwan 4%, South Korea 4% (1995)

Debt - external $NA

Economic aid $NA

Currency 1 Singapore dollar (S$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates Singapore dollars (S$) per US$1 - 1.7533 (January 1998), 1.4848 (1997), 1.4100 (1996), 1.4174 (1995), 1.5274 (1994), 1.6158 (1993)

Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Singapore on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Singapore Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Singapore Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.