External Demand Reliance of Sectors in Singapore’s Economy

Singapore is a small open economy that is highly dependent on external demand. Over the period of 2015 to 2019, external demand contributed to around 67 per cent to 72 per cent of Singapore’s GDP. 

This article examines the external demand reliance of the various sectors of the Singapore economy over time, using DOS’ Input-Output (IO) tables for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

The external demand reliance of Singapore’s sectors can be measured by the sector’s total export share of output

The external demand reliance of each sector of the Singapore economy can be measured by the total export share of its output (see Annex for the computation methodology). Sectors with higher total export shares are relatively more affected by external economic developments due to their larger reliance on external demand, whereas sectors with lower total export shares are relatively more affected by domestic economic developments (e.g., domestic labour market conditions and local property asset prices) due to their greater reliance on domestic demand.

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