From economic might to religious influence, many of the smallest countries in the world are surprisingly powerful. One of the most is Singapore.
Singapore was struggling with high unemployment, outdated infrastructure, and a housing crisis fifty years ago. The city-state is currently rated as one of the world's most livable cities and has one of the greatest rates of human capital development.
As of 2017, Singapore's gross national income was US$54,530 per person, making it a high-income country. The nation has one of the most business-friendly regulatory environments in the world for local entrepreneurs, and its economy is considered to be one of the most competitive in the world.
After gaining its independence, Singapore quickly moved from being a low-income to a high-income nation. The city-GDP state's growth has been among the highest in the world, averaging 7.7% since independence and reaching 9.2% in the first 25 years.
Manufacturing took over as the primary engine of growth for the island nation in the 1960s when rapid industrialization propelled its development trajectory. Early in the 1970s, Singapore attained full employment, and a decade later it joined Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Hong Kong SAR as Asia's rapidly industrializing economy. The two foundational industries of Singapore's high-value-added economy continue to be manufacturing and services.
In 2018, the Singaporean economy as a whole expanded by 3.2%. The services sector, particularly the information and communications industries, which grew 6.0% year over year, and the finance & insurance industries, which grew 5.9% year over year, continue to be key drivers of growth in value-added manufacturing, particularly in the electronics and precision engineering sectors.
The government predicts a range of 1.5% to 3.5% for economic growth in 2019, with the rate projected to be a little below the middle of the projection range.
Asia's Infrastructure Exchange, dubbed "the go-to destination where infrastructure demand and supply can connect, where infrastructure expertise and financing can be accessed, and where infrastructure needs are addressed," was introduced by Singapore in 2017.
The government emphasized the country's robust ecosystem in its announcement, a system that incorporates actors in the infrastructure industry along the whole value chain, including multilateral institutions, private financiers, attorneys, accountants, engineers, and other professional services.
Singapore is ranked as the world's finest country for developing human capital in the most current World Bank Human Capital Index. Accordingly, a child born in Singapore today will be 88% as productive as she would be if she had received a complete education and had perfect health.
The nation continues to improve the agility and adaptability of its workforce in addition to providing substantial financial support by offering ongoing education programs like the Skillsfuture initiative. The amount the government spends on lifelong learning will almost treble, reaching more than S$1 billion annually.
With a total area of approximately 726 km2, Singapore is not the smallest country in the world, but it is ranked 20th on the list. Singapore is one of the world's lowest-lying nations, with an average elevation of just 15 meters above sea level. Timah, the highest elevation, is merely 164 meters high.
In addition to the main island, the nation also controls 62 other smaller islands. Only one nation borders Singapore directly: Malaysia.
Source: WorldBank.org, VisualCapitalist.com, WorldData.info,
