Singapore has minimized health-care expenditures over time, from 5.1 percent of government spending in 2009 to 4.6 percent in 2011. This reflects Singapore’s unique health-care system, which combines government subsides for public health with compulsory corporate savings accounts and individual savings accounts. Together, these programs have protected individuals from catastrophic health-care expenses while financing medical procedures and surgeries. The government continues to invest in hospital infrastructure. Access to essential medicines has also increased, and life expectancy and other health-care indicators continue to rise.
Singapore has an outstanding track record when it comes to education. Since 2007, it has increased education spending by approximately 40 percent, from $7.5 billion in fiscal year 2007 to $10.5 billion in fiscal year 2012. Perhaps the biggest factor contributing to Singapore’s success is the government’s dedication to investing in its teachers. It selects pools of applicants from the top university graduates for entrance into the National Institute for Education and then provides those who make it with free tuition, a monthly stipend, and a guaranteed job upon graduation. The country continues to rank highly in international academic assessments: last year, it ranked second overall in the in the OECD’s 15-year-old PISA math achievement tests and third in PISA reading comprehension exams. All in all, Singapore has developed the skilled labor needed to match its thriving economy.