Economy Profiles

Singapore 1st / 141

Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 2019 edition Rank in 2018 edition: 2nd / 140

Performance Overview 2019 Key Previous edition High-income group average East Asia and Pacific average

Overall Enabling Human Innovation

Score Environment Capital Markets Ecosystem

Best SGP FIN SGP KOR (33) (4) CHE HKG SGP HKG CHN USA DEU

100 100 100

95
91
90
85 87
80 80 79 81 81
76 75
72
70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Score

            
Rank /141 1st 2nd 1st 5th 38th 1st 19th 2nd 1st 2nd 27th 14th 13th
Overall Institutions Infrastructure ICT Macro- Health Skills Product Labour Financial Market Business Innovation
adoption economic market market system size dynamism capability
stability

Selected contextual indicators

Population millions 5.6 GDP (PPP) % world GDP 0.42

GDP per capita US$ 64,041.4 5-year average FDI inward flow % GDP 22.5

10-year average annual GDP growth % 4.6

Social and environmental performance

Renewable energy consumption share % 0.7 Global Gender Gap Index 0-1 (gender parity) 0.7

Unemployment rate % 3.8

506 | The Global Competitiveness Report 2019

 Economy Profiles

Singapore 1st /141

Index Component Value Score *     Rank/141 Best Performer

 1st pillar: Institutions 0–100 - 80.4 2 Finland

Security 0–100 - 96.1 2 Finland
1.01 Organized crime 1–7 (best) 6.6 92.6 4 Finland
1.02 Homicide rate per 100,000 pop. 0.2 100.0 = 1 Multiple (14)
1.03 Terrorism incidence 0 (very high) -100 (no incidence) 100.0 100.0 = 1 Multiple (25)
1.04 Reliability of police services 1–7 (best) 6.5 91.9 2 Finland
Social capital 0–100 - 61.8 15 New Zealand
1.05 Social capital 0–100 (best) 61.8 61.8 15 New Zealand
Checks and balances 0–100 - 65.9 23 Finland
1.06 Budget transparency 0–100 (best) n/a 78.0 n/a Multiple (2)
1.07 Judicial independence 1–7 (best) 5.6 77.4 14 Finland
1.08 Efficiency of legal framework in challenging regulations 1–7 (best) 4.6 59.4 15 Finland
1.09 Freedom of the press 0–100 (worst) 51.4 48.6 124 Norway
Public-sector performance 0–100 - 85.9 1 Singapore
1.10 Burden of government regulation 1–7 (best) 5.5 74.4 1 Singapore
1.11 Efficiency of legal framework in settling disputes 1–7 (best) 6.2 86.6 1 Singapore
1.12 E-Participation 0–1 (best) 0.97 96.6 = 13 Multiple (3)
Transparency 0–100 - 85.0 3 Denmark
1.13 Incidence of corruption 0–100 (best) 85.0 85.0 3 Denmark
Property rights 0–100 - 91.3 2 Finland
1.14 Property rights 1–7 (best) 6.4 89.4 3 Finland
1.15 Intellectual property protection 1–7 (best) 6.4 89.3 2 Finland
1.16 Quality of land administration 0–30 (best) 28.5 95.0 1 Multiple (5)
Corporate governance 0–100 - 82.5 2 New Zealand
1.17 Strength of auditing and accounting standards 1–7 (best) 6.3 87.6 3 Finland
1.18 Conflict of interest regulation 0–10 (best) 9.3 93.0 = 2 Kenya
1.19 Shareholder governance 0–10 (best) 6.7 67.0 = 37 Kazakhstan
Future orientation of government 0–100 - 74.5 8 Luxembourg
1.20 Government ensuring policy stability 1–7 (best) 6.3 89.1 2 Switzerland
1.21 Government's responsiveness to change 1–7 (best) 6.1 85.2 1 Singapore
1.22 Legal framework's adaptability to digital business models 1–7 (best) 5.6 76.5 3 United States
1.23 Government long-term vision 1–7 (best) 6.5 91.2 1 Singapore
1.24 Energy efficiency regulation 0–100 (best) 74.6 74.6 19 Italy
1.25 Renewable energy regulation 0–100 (best) 53.9 53.9 62 Germany
1.26 Environment-related treaties in force count (out of 29) 18 62.1 119 Multiple (6)

 2nd pillar: Infrastructure 0–100 - 95.4 1 Singapore

Transport infrastructure 0–100 - 91.7 1 Singapore
2.01 Road connectivity 0–100 (best) N/Appl. n/a n/a Multiple (3)
2.02 Quality of road infrastructure 1–7 (best) 6.5 90.9 1 Singapore
2.03 Railroad density km/1,000 km[[2 281.5 100.0 1 Multiple (24)
2.04 Efficiency of train services 1–7 (best) 5.8 80.1 5 Japan
2.05 Airport connectivity score 352,687.7 85.4 = 23 Multiple (8)
2.06 Efficiency of air transport services 1–7 (best) 6.7 95.5 1 Singapore
2.07 Liner shipping connectivity 0–100 (best) 133.9 100.0 = 2 Multiple (5)
2.08 Efficiency of seaport services 1–7 (best) 6.5 90.8 1 Singapore
Utility infrastructure 0–100 - 99.2 5 Iceland
2.09 Electricity access % of population 100.0 100.0 = 2 Multiple (67)
2.10 Electricity supply quality % of output 1.9 100.0 = 2 Multiple (10)
2.11 Exposure to unsafe drinking water % of population 1.7 100.0 25 Multiple (28)
2.12 Reliability of water supply 1–7 (best) 6.8 96.8 7 Iceland

The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 | 507

Economy Profiles

Singapore 1st /141

Index Component Value Score *     Rank/141 Best Performer

 3rd pillar: ICT adoption 0–100 - 87.1 5 Korea, Rep.

3.01 Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions per 100 pop. 145.7 100.0 = 16 Multiple (63)
3.02 Mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 pop. 145.7 N/Appl. 6 United Arab Emirates
3.03 Fixed-broadband Internet subscriptions per 100 pop. 25.9 51.8 43 Switzerland
3.04 Fibre internet subscriptions per 100 pop. 22.3 N/Appl. 8 Korea, Rep.
3.05 Internet users % of adult population 88.2 88.2 24 Qatar

 4th pillar: Macroeconomic stability 0–100 - 99.7 38 Multiple (33)

4.01 Inflation % 0.5 100.0 1 Multiple (88)
4.02 Debt dynamics 0–100 (best) 99.5 99.5 39 Multiple (34)

 5th pillar: Health 0–100 - 100.0 = 1 Multiple (4)

5.01 Healthy life expectancy years 74.2 100.0 = 1 Multiple (4)

 6th pillar: Skills 0–100 - 78.8 19 Switzerland

Current workforce 0–100 - 76.1 13 Switzerland
6.01 Mean years of schooling years 11.9 79.2 32 Germany
Skills of current workforce 0–100 - 73.1 3 Switzerland
6.02 Extent of staff training 1–7 (best) 5.4 73.3 4 Switzerland
6.03 Quality of vocational training 1–7 (best) 5.4 73.3 6 Switzerland
6.04 Skillset of graduates 1–7 (best) 5.4 73.4 4 Switzerland
6.05 Digital skills among active population 1–7 (best) 5.6 76.4 5 Finland
6.06 Ease of finding skilled employees 1–7 (best) 5.1 68.8 9 United States
Future workforce 0–100 - 81.4 22 Denmark
6.07 School life expectancy years 16.3 90.7 27 Multiple (11)
Skills of future workforce 0–100 - 72.1 28 Denmark
6.08 Critical thinking in teaching 1–7 (best) 4.4 56.9 21 Finland
6.09 Pupil-to-teacher ratio in primary education ratio 15.1 87.4 48 Multiple (5)

 7th pillar: Product market 0–100 - 81.2 2 Hong Kong SAR

Domestic competition 0–100 - 73.8 2 Hong Kong SAR
7.01 Distortive effect of taxes and subsidies on competition 1–7 (best) 5.8 79.8 1 Singapore
7.02 Extent of market dominance 1–7 (best) 4.8 63.8 15 Switzerland
7.03 Competition in services 1–7 (best) 5.7 77.7 6 Hong Kong SAR
Trade openness 0–100 - 88.7 1 Singapore
7.04 Prevalence of non-tariff barriers 1–7 (best) 6.0 83.6 1 Singapore
7.05 Trade tariffs % 0.02 99.9 2 Hong Kong SAR
7.06 Complexity of tariffs 1–7 (best) 6.9 99.0 3 Hong Kong SAR
7.07 Border clearance efficiency 1–5 (best) 3.9 72.2 = 6 Germany

 8th pillar: Labour market 0–100 - 81.2 1 Singapore

Flexibility 0–100 - 79.8 1 Singapore
8.01 Redundancy costs weeks of salary 3.0 100.0 = 5 Multiple (8)
8.02 Hiring and firing practices 1–7 (best) 5.6 77.0 3 Hong Kong SAR
8.03 Cooperation in labour-employer relations 1–7 (best) 6.1 85.3 1 Singapore
8.04 Flexibility of wage determination 1–7 (best) 6.0 83.9 3 Estonia
8.05 Active labour market policies 1–7 (best) 5.5 75.5 3 Switzerland
8.06 Workers' rights 0-100 (best) 89.0 89.0 18 Multiple (2)
8.07 Ease of hiring foreign labour 1–7 (best) 3.9 47.6 93 Albania
8.08 Internal labour mobility 1–7 (best) Not applicable Not applicable n/a United States
Meritocracy and incentivization 0–100 - 82.7 5 Denmark
8.09 Reliance on professional management 1–7 (best) 6.0 83.5 3 Finland
8.10 Pay and productivity 1–7 (best) 5.5 74.6 3 Hong Kong SAR
8.11 Ratio of wage and salaried female workers to male workers % 0.89 86.3 31 Multiple (4)
8.12 Labour tax rate % 17.8 86.4 = 75 Multiple (24)

508 | The Global Competitiveness Report 2019

 Economy Profiles

Singapore 1st /141

Index Component Value Score *     Rank/141 Best Performer

 9th pillar: Financial system 0–100 - 91.3 2 Hong Kong SAR

Depth 0–100 - 86.7 2 United States
9.01 Domestic credit to private sector % GDP 126.5 100.0 = 18 Multiple (30)
9.02 Financing of SMEs 1–7 (best) 5.2 69.8 6 Finland
9.03 Venture capital availability 1–7 (best) 4.8 63.5 6 United States
9.04 Market capitalization % GDP 220.1 100.0 = 4 Multiple (15)
9.05 Insurance premium volume to GDP 6.3 100.0 14 Multiple (17)
Stability 0–100 - 97.0 3 Finland
9.06 Soundness of banks 1–7 (best) 6.5 91.2 2 Finland
9.07 Non-performing loans % of gross total loans 1.4 98.2 17 Multiple (3)
9.08 Credit gap % 2.1 99.8 101 Multiple (98)
9.09 Banks’ regulatory capital ratio % of total risk-weighted assets 16.5 99.0 81 Multiple (74)

 10th pillar: Market size 0–100 - 71.5 27 China

10.01 Gross domestic product PPP $ billions 503 N/Appl. 36 China
10.02 Imports of goods and services % GDP 154.3 N/Appl. 3 Hong Kong SAR

 11th pillar: Business dynamism 0–100 - 75.6 14 United States

Administrative requirements 0–100 - 86.9 19 United States
11.01 Cost of starting a business % of GNI per capita 0.4 99.8 9 Multiple (2)
11.02 Time to start a business days 1.5 99.0 2 New Zealand
11.03 Insolvency recovery rate cents to the dollar 88.8 95.6 5 Japan
11.04 Insolvency regulatory framework 0–16 (best) 8.5 53.1 = 88 Multiple (6)
Entrepreneurial culture 0–100 - 64.2 16 Israel
11.05 Attitudes towards entrepreneurial risk 1–7 (best) 4.5 58.9 26 Israel
11.06 Willingness to delegate authority 1–7 (best) 5.3 72.2 17 Denmark
11.07 Growth of innovative companies 1–7 (best) 5.0 66.3 14 Israel
11.08 Companies embracing disruptive ideas 1–7 (best) 4.6 59.6 13 Israel

 12th pillar: Innovation capability 0–100 - 75.2 13 Germany

Interaction and diversity 0–100 - 78.7 1 Singapore
12.01 Diversity of workforce 1–7 (best) 5.8 79.9 1 Singapore
12.02 State of cluster development 1–7 (best) 5.1 69.2 10 Italy
12.03 International co-inventions per million pop. 26.31 100.0 = 5 Multiple (5)
12.04 Multi-stakeholder collaboration 1–7 (best) 5.0 66.0 11 Israel
Research and development 0–100 - 70.5 21 Japan
12.05 Scientific publications score 493.7 91.9 23 Multiple (9)
12.06 Patent applications per million pop. 118.66 87.9 15 Multiple (8)
12.07 R&D expenditures % GDP 2.2 72.0 14 Multiple (7)
12.08 Research institutions prominence 0–100 (best) 0.11 30.1 21 Multiple (7)
Commercialization 0–100 - 77.3 10 Luxembourg
12.09 Buyer sophistication 1–7 (best) 4.8 63.5 9 Korea, Rep.
12.10 Trademark applications per million pop. 4,821.95 91.2 21 Multiple (7)

* Scores are on a 0 to 100 scale, where 100 represents the optimal situation or 'frontier'. Arrows indicate the direction of the change in score from the previous
edition, if available.

Note: For detailed methodology, definitions, sources, and periods, visit [Link]

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