Singapore’s economy expanded 4.8 per cent year on year in 2025, advance estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) showed on Friday (Jan 2) morning.

Aside from being faster than the 4 per cent growth recorded in the previous year, last year’s gross domestic product (GDP) also exceeds the official forecast of “around 4 per cent” that MTI had upgraded to last November.

In 2026, MTI expects Singapore’s economy to grow by 1 to 3 per cent.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had earlier revealed the 4.8 per cent full-year growth figure in his New Year’s Day message on Wednesday evening.

In his speech, he warned that Singapore “must be realistic” about the difficulty of maintaining this growth rate. “Fractured trade and geopolitical tensions are not transient problems, but permanent features of a fragmented world,” he said.

Nevertheless, he said “economic success is a means to an end”, and what matters is that Singaporeans benefit from the nation’s progress. 

To do so, the government will work alongside the labour movement and employers to help workers grow and progress in their careers. PM Wong added that areas such as education, housing and healthcare will also be improved.

Fourth quarter GDP growth came in at 5.7 per cent, faster than the 4.3 per cent growth recorded in Q3. 

On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the economy grew 1.9 per cent in Q4, easing from the previous quarter’s 2.4 per cent expansion.

Growth for the manufacturing sector jumped to 15 per cent, from 4.9 per cent in the previous quarter. For the full-year, manufacturing grew 7.6 per cent year on year.

In Q4, the services industries grew 3.8 per cent year on year, lower than the 4.1 per cent recorded in the previous quarter. For the full-year, the sector rose by 4.1 per cent.