How Singapore Got Crazy Rich, Crazy Fast

Singapore, once a poor nation, rose to the 33rd largest economy in 50 years, inspiring other countries globally. Yet, its unique journey, often misunderstood to be solely based on glamorous industries, is not easy to replicate, and many economists forget the draconian measures it took to build Singapore into the wealthy country it is today.

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[lktzu]

There won't be another Singapore because there won't be another Lee Kuan Yew and a team of tenacious and brilliant people backing him up. As a Singaporean, I am eternally grateful to the leadership that stepped up and got us through difficult times.

[jeems]

LKY was a brilliant leader of a brilliant team backing him up all with the purpose of making Singapore prosper. Insane effort and I'm proud to say I'm Singaporean

[stopsign]

Singapore is pretty much that one guy/gal that left behind a toxic group of friends (in this case Malaysia due to some "differences") and ended up way better off as a result.

[brisbanebill]

I lived in Singapore and one item mentioned in the video maybe unpopular but it was the shear hard work and grit of the first 'pioneer' generation. They worked very hard in low value industries to pay for the education of the next generation, who then had similar grit to work hard in more high value industries. Singapore was built through a very smart government and bl^*dy hard work.

[fuyukrft]

Singapore resident(as of writing) here, one thing you have to recognise, is the sincerity of the government towards improving the quality of life of their citizens. It's noticeable in every aspect of daily life, every bus stop or hdb market has fully shaded walkways. It's little things like these where every citizen, regardless of social position benefits from, to ward the rain here for example that you rarely notice, that wins you no votes, but is still done, just to optimise the lives of their residents. It's these little things you notice as a resident that shows you the remarkableness of their political system

[kracks]

Singapore was so lucky to have Lee Kuan Yew. It is very rare for a dictator to care so deeply for their people. Truly an inspiration...

[dbwkdidwbsof]

Singaporean here, thanks for doing this video! we are proud of Singapore's success even if we don't show it very well. people complain PAP terrible, honestly they've made a lot of good decisions. I'm glad I can walk around safely at night and I won't get shot on the streets and my healthcare will be covered and I will have money when I retire.

[shayneweyker]

Exactly one mention of the country's very strong anti-government-corruption laws and behavior differentiating it from other countries. That deserved more attention for people looking to understand why Singapore succeeded the way it did.

[marvinamann]

Just been to Singapore. Incredibly impressive country!

I have lived in Europe for most of my life, and when traveling it's rare to see any country being not just an equal to Europe, but honestly far ahead in many categories.

[carlosrueda]

"and if their government doesn't use this power to benefit themselves" as someone who lived in Venezuela this sentence hurts

[phantomsea]

I personally think incorruptible system is the real biggest reason of making it happen and where Singapore is today.
Because the ruling party and opposition party to a certain extend knows corrupting the system is a death sentence to the entire country.

[روح-در]

Love from Italy’s they Singapore deserve every single penny of their net worth. The journey of Singapore has been one of the most amazing stories i have ever heard.

[fii_]

I think the most important factor in why Singapore is unreplicable is that combination of strong authoritarian one-party state while simultaneously having low corruption and competent government. The economic strategy is unique to Singapore's circumstance, but almost every country would be better off with a government like Singapore...
Too bad that making authoritarianism work is the truly unreplicable part and basically no one else can do it.

[dahalofreeek]

I did a presentation for my advanced macroeconomics course on the economy of Singapore. It's a super interesting and unique little country. The country was basically nothing in the 1950s when it became independent from Britain. Most people were illiterate at the time. In about six or seven decades, it went from virtually no gross domestic product to being 1/6th millionaires.

The way they do monetary policy is particularly interesting. It has led to some insane GDP contractions during the GFC, but their recovery was even more insane.

[yellowstoic]

Lee Kwan Yew understood that ethics is a competitive advantage.

[Basta]

Singapore is a city state. Imagine large capital cities if they were allowed to exclude citizens from moving there unless they were skilled.

Singapore can essentially deport non contributors. They have an excellent school system that instills discipline and self responsibility.

Yes, it’s a unique place but doesn’t mean no lessons can be drawn from it. For example, the Housing Development Board shows that government housing can be done well.

[practicalgigabit]

What I have learnt from this video: Singapore is a gas stop for ships using the Straits of Malacca. This video is simply amazing!

[sandaverock]

I'm one of the 300k Malaysians who commute daily to Singapore. I would say Singapore is one of the most efficient country out there.. travelled to many places around the globe and most of them pale in comparison to Singapore, be it the public transport or the ease of doing business

[gymnastalexliang]

Hi there I just wanted to point out that Singapore has virtually no natural resources and we're not talking "despite having not much oil of its own" (13:03) it has no oil at all - we're talking not a single drop of oil. In fact Singapore's only real natural resources were some granite quarries which have long been exhausted and what's left of those granite quarries have bee turned into parks. This is why Singapore's success is even more astonishing because it is easier when you have some natural resources, even a little, to get your economy going but if you have virtually nothing except from a little bit of granite, well then - it has been said that the only resource that Singapore has is its human resource, thus the emphasis on education and training there. Look I don't wanna ramble on and on in a Youtube comment, but I would urge you to do your research more thoroughly as things like that are easily verifiable through a Google search.

[general]

There can never be another LKY, there can never be another Singapore. That single man's vision is stupendous and your economic outlook falls short of all the growth made in different sectors