Singapore vs Thailand
Singapore vs Thailand: Government debt
Government debt in 2024: 165.8% of GDP in Singapore and 62.9% of GDP in Thailand, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Singapore, by 102.9 percentage points, or 2.64 times that in Thailand.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Singapore has been higher in every year both have figures for since 1996.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Singapore at 169.2% of GDP and Thailand at 69.8% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Singapore | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 165.8 | 62.9 |
| 2023 | 170.4 | 62.2 |
| 2022 | 153.3 | 60.6 |
| 2021 | 139.9 | 58.4 |
| 2020 | 147.1 | 49.4 |
| 2019 | 127.7 | 41.1 |
| 2018 | 109.2 | 41.9 |
| 2017 | 107.3 | 41.8 |
| 2016 | 105.9 | 41.7 |
| 2015 | 102.1 | 42.6 |
| 2014 | 97.8 | 43.3 |
| 2013 | 98.2 | 42.2 |
| 2012 | 106.7 | 41.9 |
| 2011 | 103.1 | 39.1 |
| 2010 | 98.7 | 39.8 |
| 2009 | 101.7 | 42.4 |
| 2008 | 97.9 | 35 |
| 2007 | 87.8 | 36 |
| 2006 | 86.5 | 39.2 |
| 2005 | 92.7 | 45.5 |
| 2004 | 95.7 | 46.3 |
| 2003 | 99.1 | 47.5 |
| 2002 | 96.3 | 54.9 |
| 2001 | 94.5 | 57.5 |
| 2000 | 82.3 | 57.8 |
| 1999 | 85.3 | 56.6 |
| 1998 | 84.7 | 49.9 |
| 1997 | 70.8 | 40.5 |
| 1996 | 71.3 | 15.2 |
| 1995 | 69.8 | – |
| 1994 | 70.7 | – |
| 1993 | 71.2 | – |
| 1992 | 79 | – |
| 1991 | 76.4 | – |
| 1990 | 73.5 | – |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2025–2031
| Year | Singapore | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 165.7 | 64.7 |
| 2026 | 166.4 | 67.2 |
| 2027 | 167.1 | 68.5 |
| 2028 | 167.9 | 69.1 |
| 2029 | 168.5 | 69.4 |
| 2030 | 169 | 69.6 |
| 2031 | 169.2 | 69.8 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Singapore vs Thailand
Health
- Life expectancySingapore: 83.7 years in 2023Thailand: 76.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalitySingapore: 0.3 per 100 live births in 2024Thailand: 0.9 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalitySingapore: 1.7 per 1,000 live births in 2023Thailand: 6.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionSingapore: 3.44% in 2017Thailand: 3.09% in 2017
- Suicide rateSingapore: 7.3 per 100,000 people in 2017Thailand: 10.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationSingapore: 5.79 million people in 2023Thailand: 71.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthSingapore: 0.81% a year in 2023Thailand: -0.04% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateSingapore: 0.94 births per woman in 2023Thailand: 1.21 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationSingapore: 100% in 2025Thailand: 62.8% in 2025
- Median ageSingapore: 35.1 years in 2023Thailand: 39.7 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overSingapore: 13.1% in 2023Thailand: 14.7% in 2023
- Net migration rateSingapore: 4.7 per 1,000 people in 2023Thailand: 0.3 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingSingapore: 3.05% of GDP in 2025Thailand: 1.04% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsSingapore: $16.9B in 2025Thailand: $5.57B in 2025
- Military spending per personSingapore: $2,980 in 2025Thailand: $84 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingSingapore: 18% of government spending in 2025Thailand: 4.4% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelSingapore: 59,000 people in 2020Thailand: 455,000 people in 2020
- National powerSingapore: 0.25% of world capability in 2022Thailand: 0.79% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersSingapore: 1.72% of the labour force in 2020Thailand: 1.13% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsSingapore: 57 million TIV in 2025Thailand: 33 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsSingapore: 79 million TIV in 2025Thailand: 15 million TIV in 2024