Why Singapore is One of the World's Richest Countries

Today Singapore is one of the richest and most prosperous nations on earth, but it's not exactly obvious how. At independence it was surrounded by hostile nations, had no natural resources, two thirds of its population lived in slums and it appeared destined to remain underdeveloped and poor. How did Singapore succeed when many other nations failed and is Singapore's economic miracle just too good to be true?

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--Contents of this video--------------------------------
00:00 - Singapore's Humble Beginnings
03:01 - The Beginning's of Singapore
04:43 - The Rise of Singapore
06:49 - The Fall of Singapore
08:32 - Independence
10:42 - Building a Nation from Scratch
11:39 - Dictatorship
12:59 - Housing the Masses
14:35 - Singapore's Economic Miracle
16:39 - Improving Productivity
18:11 - State Owned Enterprises
19:27 - The 4th Richest Nation on Earth

-- Sources used ---------------------------------------------
- The Economic Growth of Singapore: Trade and Development in the Twentieth Century by W. G. Huff
- From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000 by Lee Kuan Yew

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[thegoat]

As a Singaporean, I know some people who hate Lee Kuan Yew but honestly without him, we would be living in slums, call him a dictator, but he made Singapore what we are today. He is indeed Singapore’s father.

[AllocatorsAsia]

Lee Kuan Yew is honestly unreal. So much responsibility and pressure. Yet delivered in spades. Recommended reading as much as you can about LKY, there’s some great books out there

[yuunjac]

Singapore is one of the few countries where Dictatorship done right under a benevolent leader who has a vision and care for his people. LKY is an inspiration for many leaders today that failed to achieve what he can.

[tinyme]

As a Singaporean, this has brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for allowing me to revisit my country's history. Today, the land we stand on are built by the hard labor of our forefathers. I do understand that many foreign countries often view the policies made by LKY as authoritarian and "inhumane", but without him, we will not be where we are today. Because of his policies, people of different colors and ethnicity here in Singapore live together in harmony and are educated the importance of it since young. Today, we can all sleep soundly with our doors unlocked, without worrying about theft or robbery. And all these is only made possible by LKY. We are not a perfect nation and we do have flaws too, but i feel really blessed to be a Singaporean.

[FactsFurAll]

As a Malaysian, I truly admire Singapore, how the small country has became the most developed country in Southeast Asia. But honestly I feel attacked by the thumbnail 😅. I do believe my country is not poor. Not poor also not rich like our neighbours. I always wish that all countries in SEA will be prosperous together.

[baimovic]

So Lee's policies includes
1. Eradication of slum by public housing, minimize private housing
2. Keep low to none tariff of goods, even gives tax holidays
3. Ban union
4. Make harsh punishment to corrupt official, sometimes death
5. But also giving high wage to goverment officials
6. Invest heavily, HEAVILY, on education
7. Profit oriented - state owned company
This successfully made singapore rich and powerful

Yet Indonesian govt did the exact opposite

[peacockbass]

Yes, LKY led Singapore to prosperity. But let us not forget he had a great team of people in his Cabinet. And also the sacrifice and hard work put forth by the people of Singapore.

[stonkytong]

LKY is very much appreciated in SG, especially with the pioneer generation and the educated citizens. He deserved every inch of respect. He was way ahead of his time. Genius.

[caesar]

“Singapore’s economy is not perfect for the world. It is perfect for Singapore” How true. Every country’s circumstance is different but there are aspects of its policy that are universally applicable.

[silvercs]

lived & worked in SGP in 1969-70, was one of the first Us technology companies there. The local workforce was amazinggly productive; hardworking, and willing to try whatever was being taught. In no time they were outdoing equivalent USA workers, and we could see the handwriting on the wall. Loved my time there and have many fond memories of kind and caring local people.

[ExpeditionPatrick]

I just returned from my first visit to Singapore a few days ago and I was extremely impressed. The lack of goverment corruption and bureaucracy makes everything extremely efficient. From the time you arrive to the time you leave, you understand why it is called "the city of the future." Not because of self driving cars, robots, or things like that but because of the practical way the country is ran. All of the Singaporeans I met were extremely friendly and welcoming as well. I can't wait to return in the future.

[cybergod]

As a S'porean, we owe a great debt of gratitude to Lee Kuan Yew and his cabinet for the miraculous transformation to modern S'pore that we enjoy today. Truly, a visionary leader who dedicated all of his life to improve the lives of S'poreans is one of the greatest blessings we have. He is greatly endeared and missed by us all.

[maxd]

Moral of the story:
It takes a genuine political will to build a successful country period.

[chronicles]

The story of Singapore is truly miraculous. Changing lives of citizens in one generation is an unmatched achievement.

[bunny_god]

Lee Kuan Yew was so powerful, i admire how decisively he acted on issues without letting corruption and greed get to him. he was hard as nails but did it for his country!

[blessedone]

Thank you Mr Lee. You are the reason for us to be living in this beautiful peaceful prosperous nation. I am so blessed to have had you as our Founding Father and Leader. Thank you so much

[shubhambadgujar]

"Singpore's economy is not perfect for the world, it's perfect for the Singapore "
This should go in every Macroeconomic Textbooks.

[xanthonjp]

I'm Singaporean and have watched many youtube documentaries on the rise of Singapore. Watched all of polymatter's video.

This is by far the most accurate one I've seen. It tells it like it is. Especially how Lee Kuan Yew decided to go the authoritarian route to stabilize the country and grow the economy at an insane rate.

YouTube creators either focus on the authoritarianism or over romanticize our success.

Casual Scholar has managed to show that both sides are deeply entwined why many of our draconian laws helped build the success. It's unfortunate that the government is reluctant to let go of LKY's way despite our success no longer needed it.

[whywhy]

Great video man. You did a great job of highlighting why it worked in Singapore but also shed light on why it might not work in bigger countries. What I find most interesting is that while the laws to clean up the nation were draconian in nature the state at the same time invested in its people and gave the people the ability to invest in themselves with the ownership of property. Also the government actively invested in its people with the development of education and infrastructure. While I don’t believe that all of Singapores policy’s could translate to another country the investment in its people, education, and infrastructure is surely something that I wish would be implemented in my country.

[zyrob]

Am a fourth generation Singaporean so my parents and grandparents lived through the development of Singapore. My grandmother lived through the Japanese Occupation of 1942-1945. Several of my granduncles were even killed by the Japanese. My parents lived in villages in their childhood, in attap houses. They bred chickens and sold vegetables at the market for a living. They told me they had to travel to school on dirt roads with little street lamps. Fast forward by one generation, Singapore is now 100% urbanised. The exact same places where the villages were are filled with modern skyscrapers and apartment buildings. Almost every Singaporean lives in houses that they own (albeit for 99 years for government housing). It's amazing how much we progressed in one generation.