Singapore Exports

Singapore is a country with comparative high GDP per capita and it is ranked the 22nd wealthiest country in the world. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, attributable to government led industrialization (across the island) and foreign investments. The resulting effect is an economy which thrives on electronics and manufacturing exports in conjunction with financial and entrepot trade.

Singapore is characterized as a market based economy and is re-known for its business friendly atmosphere. The economy revolves around trade and relies heavily on exports (equivalent to 243% of GDP in 2005) particularly from the manufacturing sector (The CIA World Factbook, 2010).

Between 2005 and 2007, the Singaporean economy witnessed annual GDP growth of between 7.4%, 8.7% and 8.8%. The high growth of GDP is heavily based its exportation of IT, pharmaceuticals, and an on growing financial services sectors etc. The real GDP raised by 9.2%, 7.4% and 8.7% for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 despite the high oil price (Singapore statistics office, 2010).

As Singapore's trade is way more than its own GDP, it is very dependent and sensitive to changes in the world economy. In 2008, after the American financial crisis spread over the world, Singapore exports growth rate fell by 4.4% from 7.4% in 2007. As the results the GDP growth rate in 2008 also fell as from 8.8% in 2007 to 1.5% in 2008. The economy shrank by 1.3% in 2009 as a result of the recession become globally, but bounced back nearly 21.2% in 2010, on the strength of renewed exports (Singapore statistics office, 2010).