Commentary: Is Singapore on track to becoming a future-ready society?

SINGAPORE: Singapore has managed to progress over some six decades despite myriad challenges by anticipating future trends, adapting to changes and addressing problems head-on. However, with an increasingly accelerated pace of change, how ready are we in preparing for the future and can we replicate our success ? Global rankings offer a glimpse into how the world views Singapore. We tend to use these rankings as a measure of how well we are doing or to project how well we might do in the future.

Love them or loathe them, we need to learn to take them with a healthy pinch of salt. UNDERSTANDING SINGAPORE’S FUTURE READINESS So where do global indicators of future-readiness put us? Singapore was ranked sixth in Savills’ 2024 Resilient Cities Index on the ability to withstand economic, social, environmental and technological change; third in the International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2023 looking at digital infrastructure and innovative capacity; and fifth in IMD’s 2024 Smart City Index , considering how structures and technology are applied and experienced in cities. However, regardless of how well (or badly) Singapore is ranked, we should be mindful that these rankings often rely on specific metrics and methodologies that may not reflect the full picture, especially from the perspective of locals.

For example, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living survey for 2023 has given Singapore the dub.