Past
1965: Upon independence from Malaysia, Singapore faced a small domestic market, and high levels of unemployment and poverty. 70 percent of Singapore's households lived in badly overcrowded conditions, and a third of its people squatted in slums on the city fringes. Unemployment averaged 14 percent, GDP per capita was US$516, and half of the population was illiterate.
After Lee Kuan Yew was elected, he oversaw significant economic reforms to the country. Structural change and machinery propelled the economy during his tenure. Singapore was a small and densely populated nation, with very few natural resources and little space to grow outwards.