Author: Chao-Wei Lan
Publication Date: 2001
Singapore is the smallest state in South East Asia. It has no hinterland nor other natural resources, and yet it is the country which has enjoyed the most remarkable economic growth in the last three decades. Between 1965 and 1990 real GDP grew on average 6.5 percent per annum (World Bank, 1992: table 1). Today, with an average wealth of $306,000 per person, Singapore has been ranked 23rd among the world’s wealthiest nations (EDB 1999).
The city-state now has a mature economic structure, with the modern service sector accounting for a larger share of GDP than manufacturing. The 1999 world competitiveness ranking, moreover, showed Singapore as the second most competitive country in the world (the first was United States).