Singapore Economy - 2004

Economy - overview:
Singapore, a highly developed and successful free market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a high per capita GDP. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It was hard hit in 2001-2003 by the global recession and the slump in the technology sector. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. Fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, and global economic recovery should lead to much improved growth in 2004.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $109.1 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.8% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $23,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: negligible
industry: 30%
services: 70% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.7% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
2 million (June 2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
financial, business, and other services 49%, manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, other 16% (2003)

Unemployment rate:
5% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $17.4 billion
expenditures: $17.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (FY03/04 est.)

Industries:
electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, life sciences, entrepot trade

Industrial production growth rate:
7.5% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
30.48 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
28.35 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
700,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
2.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
2.5 billion cu m
: Note: from Indonesia and Malaysia (2001 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables, poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish

Exports:
$142.4 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels

Exports - partners:
Malaysia 17.4%, US 15.3%, Hong Kong 9.2%, Japan 7.1%, China 5.5%, Taiwan 4.9%, Thailand 4.6%, South Korea 4.2% (2002)

Imports:
$121.6 billion (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Malaysia 18.2%, US 14.3%, Japan 12.5%, China 7.6%, Thailand 4.6%, Taiwan 4.6% (2002)

Debt - external:
$9.1 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Currency:
Singapore dollar (SGD)

Currency code:
SGD

Exchange rates:
Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.74 (2003), 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001), 1.72 (2000), 1.69 (1999)