10 areas where Singapore has made progress

They include the economy, sustainability, as well as opportunities at key stages of life

- Chin Soo Fang

The Republic has made progress in key areas of national interest, according to the eighth edition of the Singapore Public Sector Outcomes Review, a stocktake of Singapore's progress released every two years.

Published by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Nov 1, the report outlined opportunities that Singaporeans have at every stage of life.

It also highlighted how Singaporeans have stepped up as part of the Forward Singapore exercise to help shape the country's next stage of development.

Here are 10 key takeaways from the report:

1 ECONOMY

ECONOMY CONTINUES TO GROW, WHILE INFLATION IS DOWN

Singapore's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.6 per cent between 2019 and 2023. Real GDP growth for 2024 is expected to be at the upper end of the 2 per cent to 3 per cent forecast range, improving on the 1.1 per cent achieved in 2023.

Inflation slowed significantly in 2024, after having stayed high in the preceding two years. This is partly due to the appreciation of the Singapore dollar, a fall in food commodity prices and less labour market tightness, said MOF.

SINGAPORE REMAINS TOP IN COMPETITIVENESS The Republic was ranked the most competitive economy in the International Institute for Management Development's (IMD) World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024, and was also the world's leading business environment for the 15th consecutive year in the Economist Intelligence Unit's business environment rankings for 2023.

Business formation here was also strong - over 70,000 business entities were formed in 2023, more than the 64,000 yearly average from 2019 to 2022.

2 EMPLOYMENT AND RETRAINING RISING WAGES, HIGH EMPLOYMENT The employment rate of residents aged 25 to 64 in 2023 was 82.6 per cent, higher than the 80.8 per cent achieved before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019. Residents also generally saw an increase in their wages over the past few years, said MOF.