In the third quarter of 2025, Singapore's economy experienced a year-on-year expansion of 4.2%, a slight decline from the revised 4.7% growth observed in the previous quarter. However, this latest figure exceeded the initial estimate of 2.9%, driven primarily by robust performances in the manufacturing, wholesale trade, and finance and insurance sectors. The manufacturing sector, in particular, saw a growth of 5.0%, nearly maintaining its previous rate of 5.1%, bolstered by strong activity in the electronics, transport engineering, and biomedical manufacturing clusters, which collectively grew by 6.1%.
Conversely, growth rates in other sectors showed signs of moderation. The construction sector recorded a 3.6% increase, down from 6.2%, while wholesale trade and transportation and storage sectors grew by 3.9% and 2.3%, respectively, compared to 6.9% and 3.8% in the previous period. On a more positive note, the retail trade sector witnessed an acceleration in growth, rising to 2.5% from 0.6%, and the accommodation sector also grew significantly, jumping to 4.9% from 2.1%.
For the first three quarters of 2025, Singapore's GDP growth averaged 4.3% year-on-year. Reflecting on these figures, the Ministry of Trade has adjusted its growth forecast for the entire year of 2025 upwards to approximately 4%, revising its prior projection of 1.5% to 2.5%.