Economy - overview: Singapore is blessed with a highly developed and successful free-market economy, a remarkably open and corruption-free business environment, stable prices, and the fifth highest per capita GDP in the world. Exports, particularly in electronics and chemicals, and services are the main drivers of the economy. The government promotes high levels of savings and investment through a mandatory savings scheme and spends heavily in education and technology. It also owns government-linked companies (GLCs) - particularly in manufacturing - that operate as commercial entities and account for 60% of GDP. As Singapore looks to a future increasingly marked by globalization, the country is positioning itself as the region's financial and high-tech hub.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $98 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.5% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $27,800 (1999 est.)

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

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.4% (1999)

Labor force: 1.932 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation: financial, business, and other services 38%, manufacturing 21.6%, commerce 21.4%, construction 7%, other 12%

Unemployment rate: 3.2% (1999 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $13.9 billion
expenditures: $16.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $8.1 billion (FY98/99 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: 14% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production: 26.586 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 24.725 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

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

Exports: $114 billion (1999)

Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment (including electronics) 63%, chemicals, mineral fuels (1998)

Exports - partners: US 19%, Malaysia 17%, Hong Kong 8%, Japan 7%, Taiwan 5%, Thailand 4%, UK 4%, China 3%, Germany 3% (1998)

Imports: $111 billion (1999)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment 57%, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs (1998)

Imports - partners: US 17%, Japan 17%, Malaysia 16%, Thailand 5%, China 5%, Taiwan 4%, Germany, Saudi Arabia (1998)

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid - recipient: $NA

Currency: 1 Singapore dollar (S$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Singapore dollars (S$) per US$1 - 1.6733 (January 2000), 1.6950 (1999), 1.6736 (1998), 1.4848 (1997), 1.4100 (1996), 1.4174 (1995)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March