​Rising Contribution of Services Exports to the Singapore Economy

The services sector is playing an increasingly important role in the Singapore economy. With the growth of exportable services industries such as finance & insurance and wholesale trade over the years, and as manufacturing industries progressively move into knowledge- and skill-intensive services activities, the Singapore economy has become more services-oriented. Indeed, services’ share of Singapore’s nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has gone up over the last decade, from 64 per cent in 2003 to 70 per cent in 2013. Correspondingly, the share of manufacturing in the economy has moderated from 26 per cent to 19 per cent over the same period. This phenomenon is not unique to Singapore; several developed economies including Japan, Denmark, Sweden, France and the United Kingdom have also experienced a rising share of services as a proportion of GDP over the past decade (Exhibit 1).

Please click here for the full article.