The Strategy of Singapore’s Government

The wealthy city-state’s existence is based on political stability at home and abroad. The government pursues self-preservation through a mix of autarky and white-collar economic growth.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (speaking, fourth from left) at talks with Brazil in 2019. Source.

Singapore is a maritime city-state of 5.4 million people with an independent foreign policy and military. Its GDP of $400 billion is larger than that of many far more populous states, including Vietnam, Iran, and Pakistan.¹ Singapore is one of the most affluent societies in the world, as one of a handful of states with a nominal GDP per capita higher than that of the United States.² It is a rare example of a small state that is plausibly a regional power in its own right, comparable only to Israel, which itself is nearly twice as populous as Singapore and thirty times as spacious. The city-state is also a financial hub that, as of 2023, has more billionaires and unicorn companies per capita than any other country in the world. All of these unique attributes are the result of the government’s main strategic focus on self-preservation for the tiny country.