Singapore: Real interest rate (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Singapore's real interest rate (%) fell 12.82 percentage points on 2020 (from 7.61% to -5.21%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.23 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 7.41 percentage points in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 12.82 percentage points in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 18% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2021, Singapore had the 10th highest value of the 11 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Singapore in the 2021 ranking

• United States — 7th of 11: -1.26%
• Pakistan — 8th of 11: -1.45%
• West Bank and Gaza — 9th of 11: -3.12%
• Oman — 11th of 11: -5.92%

What this measures

An interest rate is the amount charged, expressed as a percentage of the principal over a period of time, by the owners of certain kinds of financial assets for putting the financial assets at the disposal of another institutional unit. The real interest rate is the lending interest rate adjusted for inflation as measured by the GDP deflator. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability. This indicator is expressed as a percentage (a÷b)*100.

All 44 values

Real interest rate (%) in nearby economies

• Australia — 1.57% (2019)
• Brunei Darussalam — 10.75% (2025)
• China — 5.15% (2024)
• Fiji — -1.45% (2024)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 4.11% (2025)
• Indonesia — 5.99% (2025)
• Japan — 0.97% (2017)
• Korea, Rep. — 1.03% (2025)
• Macao SAR, China — 4.97% (2025)
• Malaysia — 5.3% (2025)
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 10.57% (2021)
• Mongolia

More financial sector data for Singapore

• Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 134.36 (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 132.95 (2025)
• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$1.31 (2025)
• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$1.31 (2025)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 0.9% (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — -1.8% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 128.43% (2020)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 701.01 billion (2020)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 407.83 billion (2020)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Singapore's real interest rate (%)?

-5.21% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1978?

It is down 8.21 percentage points from 3.01% in 1978. The highest value was 9.73% in 1999 and the lowest -5.21% in 2021.

How does Singapore rank?

10th highest of 11 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in real interest rate (%) unusual for Singapore?

In 2021, Singapore's real interest rate (%) fell 12.82 percentage points on 2020 (from 7.61% to -5.21%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.23 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FR.INR.RINR, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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