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Singapore

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Singapore

There are now 195 nations in the planet. This figure includes 193 United Nations member nations and two non-member observer states. Each of these countries can be uniquely identified through several aspects such as culture, political system, education, and social economic factors. Singapore is a sovereign island city-state in Southeast Asia, formally known as the Republic of Singapore. It is located about 137 kilometers (85 miles) north of the equator, between the southern tip of Indonesia and the South China Sea. The country's territory is made up of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet, with a total size that has grown by 25% since independence due to massive land reclamation initiatives. It boasts the world's third highest population density. Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil, in recognition of its diversified population and the need to respect cultural identities. The article will mainly focus on discussing Singapore in three main fronts; the economic situation, its competitiveness and healthcare.

Singapore is the freest economy in the 2022 Index, with an economic freedom score of 84.4.  Singapore's economy has expanded moderately during the last five years, with the exception of 2020, when it contracted. During that time, economic freedom has remained at a very high level. Its highly developed free-market economy owes much of its prosperity to its exceptionally open and corruption-free business climate, as well as sound fiscal and monetary policies and a transparent legal framework (Rezvani Ghomi et al., 2021). Trade freedom is robust, and well-protected property rights successfully encourage entrepreneurship and innovation. A high level of openness and government accountability underpins the overall rule of law. From 1976 to 2021, Singapore's GDP Annual Growth Rate averaged 6.23 percent, with a peak of 18.60 percent in the second quarter of 2010 and a low of -13.30 percent in the second quarter of 2020. MTI has kept its GDP growth prediction for 2022 at "3.0 to 5.0 percent." The Singapore economy expanded by 6.1 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021, down from the previous quarter's 7.5 percent increase. Currently, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stands at $379.071 billion dollars. Singapore's labor force employment rate was 64.5 percent in 2020. Singapore's employment rate has been largely constant (Hwang, 2020). According to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts, Singapore's GDP per capita is anticipated to reach 59500.00 USD by the end of 2021. According to our econometric models, the Singapore GDP per capita is expected to trend at 61000.00 USD in 2022.

Singapore has over the years been the country to beat when it comes to world competitiveness ranking. The country has for many recent years dominated the world competitiveness ranking by the Institute of Management Development due to the following key reasons. Open market strategy; Singapore's long-term economic development – and consequent riches – is the consequence of decades of devoted economic policy, including openness to foreign capital and technology, investment-friendly legislation, and market support. Singapore’s pro-business strategy includes a number of tax breaks for overseas firms. Foreign enterprises intending to create international or regional offices, for example, might benefit from advantages such as a lower corporation tax rate, while grants may be provided to those engaging in training to stimulate the adoption of new technologies, industrial R&D, and professional know how.

Secondly the county boasts of a world class talent pool. With no natural resources, Singapore has embraced its people as its most valuable resource. It has made significant investments in education, skills, and training over many decades, placing first in the World Bank's 2018 Human Capital Index. Its pupils routinely rank first in the world in numeracy and literacy abilities, and its teaching methods are admired across the globe.

Singapore boasts a world-class healthcare system that is both efficient and broad. Singapore was ranked 6th in the world's health systems by the World Health Organization in 2000. Singapore's healthcare system was named the most efficient in the world by Bloomberg in 2014 (Nurjono et al., 2018). Singapore was ranked first out of 166 nations in terms of health-care results by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Singapore was placed fourth in the world and first in Asia in the Bloomberg Global Health Index, which included 163 nations. In 2019, Singapore is ranked first in the Global Food Security Index. Through a hybrid finance scheme, Singapore has attained universal health care. MediShield Life, the country's public statutory insurance scheme, covers major hospital expenditures and some outpatient treatments.

References

Hwang, G. J. (2020). The political economy of welfare in Singapore: explaining continuity and change. Policy Studies, 41(1), 63-79. Retrieved from

Nurjono, M., Yoong, J., Yap, P., Wee, S. L., & Vrijhoef, H. J. M. (2018). Implementation of integrated care in Singapore: a complex adaptive system perspective. International Journal of Integrated Care, 18(4). Retrieved from

Rezvani Ghomi, E., Khosravi, F., Tahavori, M. A., & Ramakrishna, S. (2021). Circular economy: a comparison between the case of Singapore and France. Materials Circular Economy, 3(1), 1-12. Retrieved from