The recent trends of the Singapore economy

Sherazur Rahman##

As of 2023, the size of the nominal GDP of Singapore is fixed at $515 billion dollars, and the per capita income (nominal) is an incredible 93 thousand dollars for only 5.92 million people. However, the total area of the city-state of Singapore is only 734.3 square kilometers, and 7,804 people live per square kilometer.

According to Wikipedia, Singapore has the highest external debt at 815 billion dollars. On October 13, 2023, the Singapore economy grew by 0.7% on a year-on-year basis in the third quarter of 2023, extending the 0.5 percent growth in the previous quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the economy expanded by 1.0 percent, faster than the 0.1 percent growth in the preceding quarter. According to the “Insider Monkey” website, Singapore will have the 11th largest foreign exchange reserves in 2023.

It is able to maintain an exchange rate-centered policy. The data shows that Singapore has a total of $337.397 billion in forex reserves as of July 2023, compared to 291.27 billion in November 2022. According to information provided by Wikipedia, as of June 2023, the inflation rate was 5.5%, the GDP rate was 2.4%, and the overall unemployment rate was 2.6%. Actually, we can be surprised to see the size and capacity of the country’s foreign trade. In 2022, Singapore’s total goods and service exports were fixed at $870.81 billion, and imports were fixed at $701.63 billion during the same period. When we explain the country’s sustainable development and progress, first we must discuss its advanced and global top-class higher education system.

At least two universities in this small country are ranked in the list of the top 100 universities in multiple rankings of the international level of the higher education system. In particular, the National University of Singapore and Nan yang Technological University of Singapore are well known around the world for their modern and world-class education system. Actually, Singapore not only has an advanced education system but also has advanced medical services and the best airline service in the world. Currently, Singapore Airlines is the world’s second-best international airline service. Moreover, the Henley Passport Index ranked Singapore as the strongest passport holder in 2023.##