Singapore’s digital economy contributed 17 pct of GDP in 2022
SINGAPORE, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- Singapore’s digital economy has experienced strong growth, contributing an estimated 17.3 per cent of the republic’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, up from 13 per cent in 2017.
This represents an almost doubling of its value-added (VA), or economic contribution to S$106 billion (US$1=S$1.37) from S$58 billion over the five-year period.
These are among several key findings published in the inaugural Singapore Digital Economy (SGDE) report, developed by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in partnership with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
“Singapore’s digital economy is significant and has seen remarkable growth over the years, underscoring how IMDA’s efforts in driving Singapore’s digital transformation are bearing fruit,” said IMDA chief executive Lew Chuen Hong in a statement Friday.
“We will continue to develop the information and communications (I&C) sector and drive digitalisation across the rest of the sectors to ensure our enterprises and workforce remain competitive amid an increasingly digital world,” Lew said.
According to IMDA, the report allows it to assess the state of Singapore’s digital economy and better monitor its direction and pace of change over time.
IMDA noted that there is currently no internationally agreed standard on how to define and measure the digital economy.
Some studies focus on digital industries as a representation of the overall digital economy, while few studies look at digitalisation across the entire economy, it said.
Based on IMDA’s estimates using available data and using its definition and methodology in the report, Singapore’s digital economy has compared favourably with that of other similar open economies.
IMDA said the inaugural SGDE report takes a holistic definition of Singapore’s digital economy that comprises two components.
The first component captures the VA of the I&C sector as a producer of digital services.
The I&C sector is one of the key drivers of Singapore’s economy, having accounted for S$33 billion and 5.4 per cent of the overall GDP in 2022, up from S$19 billion and 4.3 per cent of GDP in 2017.
“It was the fastest growing sector between 2017 and 2022,” said IMDA, adding that beyond the I&C sector, the digital domain is also an enabler for the other sectors.
The second component therefore considers the VA from digitalisation across the rest of the economy, measured using an established economics technique known as the growth accounting method.
IMDA found that digitalisation across the rest of the economy progressed at a robust rate, with this digitalisation contributing S$73 billion or 11.9 per cent of Singapore’s GDP in 2022, up from S$39 billion or 8.7 per cent of GDP in 2017, outpacing the growth of the overall economy.
The rising VA from digitalisation across the rest of the economy comes on the back of more firms embracing digital technologies and solutions, it said.
In particular, IMDA said the technology adoption rate among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) rose from 74 per cent in 2018 to 94 per cent in 2022.
The average technology adoption intensity by SMEs has also increased from 1.7 to 2.1 over the same period, according to IMDA.
Furthermore, the demand for tech professionals in Singapore is healthy and has risen over the years.
Between 2017 and 2022, the number of tech jobs grew to around 201,100 from about 155,500, accounting for an increased share of total employment to 5.2 per cent from 4.2 per cent.
In addition, more than half of the tech jobs in 2022 or around 57 per cent came from the rest of the economy beyond the I&C sector.
“This strong demand for tech professionals continues to benefit the locals, with more than 70 per cent of tech jobs held by Singaporeans and permanent residents,” it said.
In general, tech professionals command a good and competitive wage, with a resident median monthly wage of S$7,376, compared to the overall residents' median wage of S$4,500.
-- BERNAMA
