Singapore economy grew 5.7% in Q4 2025, manufacturing sector expanded by 15%: MTI advance estimates
For the full year, Singapore's economy beat forecasts with growth of 4.8 per cent, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Skyline of the central business district in Singapore. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
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SINGAPORE: Singapore’s economy grew 5.7 per cent in the last quarter of 2025, with the strongest growth reported in the manufacturing sector, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Friday (Jan 2).
The pace of growth is faster than the 5 per cent growth reported in the same period a year ago, and the 4.3 per cent growth recorded in the third quarter of 2025.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the economy grew 1.9 per cent, down from 2.4 per cent in the third quarter.
The manufacturing sector expanded 15 per cent in the fourth quarter from the same period a year ago, accelerating from the 4.9 per cent growth posted in the previous quarter.
Output expansions in the biomedical manufacturing and electronics clusters largely drove the expansion, said MTI, noting robust output growth in the pharmaceuticals segment and sustained demand for artificial intelligence (AI) related semiconductors, servers and server-related products.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the manufacturing sector grew by 9.2 per cent, compared with 11.1 per cent in the third quarter of the year.
Singapore's economic growth for the full year was 4.8 per cent, up from 4.4 per cent for 2024.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in his New Year message that the economic growth for 2025 was a "better outcome than we expected", given fractured trade and geopolitical tensions globally.
He warned, however, that "sustaining this pace of growth will be challenging", and that Singapore cannot do "more of the same" if it is to be competitive.
Singapore in November upgraded its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to "around 4 per cent".
Advance estimates are largely computed from data in the first two months of the quarter, October and November in this case. They are intended as an early indicator and may be revised later when more data is available.
SECTORAL PERFORMANCE
The construction sector expanded by 4.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, moderating slightly from the 5.1 per cent growth in the previous quarter.
Growth was supported by an increase in both public and private sector construction output, MTI said.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the sector contracted by 0.4 per cent after expanding 0.7 per cent in the third quarter.
The group of sectors comprising the information and communications, finance and insurance, and professional services sectors grew 4.2 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, extending the 4.5 per cent growth reported in the third quarter.
All sectors within the group grew, with expansion in the information and communications sector primarily driven by the IT and information services segment. The professional services sector was mainly supported by the head offices and business representative offices segment.
The finance and insurance sector grew across all segments, particularly the banking and insurance segments.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, this group of sectors expanded by 5.6 per cent, faster than the 1.8 per cent growth recorded in the third quarter.
The wholesale and retail trade, and transportation and storage sectors collectively grew 3.9 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year ago, up from 3.7 per cent growth in the previous quarter.
All sectors expanded during the last three months of the year, with growth in the wholesale trade sector benefitting from strong sales volumes, led by the sales of telecommunications and computer equipment, and electronic components amid the AI boom.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the wholesale and retail trade, and transportation and storage sectors as a whole expanded by 0.4 per cent, a reversal from the 1.0 per cent contraction in the third quarter.
Accommodation and food services, real estate, administrative and support services, and other services grew by 3.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, slightly slower than the 4 per cent growth in the third quarter.
All sectors posted growth, and the accommodation sector, in particular, expanded because of a rise in international visitor arrivals.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the sectors contracted by 0.5 per cent, compared with 1.2 per cent growth in the third quarter.
