Singapore’s economy jumps 5.7% in fourth quarter, beating expectations for manufacturing strength

Singapore’s economy has grown 5.7% year-on-year for the fourth quarterdriven mainly by strong growth in the manufacturing sector in the three months to December.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry said Singapore’s manufacturing sector recorded a 15% expansion, a massive jump from 4.9% growth in the third quarter.

Growth during the quarter was largely driven by biomedical and electronics manufacturing clusters, the ministry noted.

The manufacturing industry accounts for approximately 20% of the city-state’s GDP.

The prior estimate was higher than the revised growth of 4.3% in previous quarterbringing full-year GDP growth to 4.8%, as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced in his New Year’s message.

The 4.8% growth exceeded the country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry’s upwardly revised forecast of “around 4%” in November.

“This is a better result than expected, given the circumstances,” Wong said, while warning that it would be difficult to maintain the current pace of growth.

Singapore had previously warned that 2025 would be a difficult year, citing trade risks after US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed tariffs on dozens of countries on its “Liberation Day” in April.

Despite having a free trade agreement with the United States since 2004, Singapore has been hit with the 10% base tariff. Wong said at the time that “these are not actions one does to a friend.”

The country too warned in April last year that zero growth was also a possibility and eased monetary policy twice in 2025 to prepare for a slowdown.

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