Last year’s growth came in well below the 8.9% recorded for 2021.

That figure, a correction from the pandemic lows of 2020, was upgraded from 7.6% today to account for data updates and revisions from various sources, according to the trade ministry.

The weaker reading for 2022 comes a day before the government delivers its budget statement for the 2023 fiscal year.

As the city state wrestles with inflation, various assistance measures are expected to cushion the impact on local households.

For businesses, more support is anticipated in areas such as digital adoption and skills training to raise productivity.

Singapore’s services and tourism industries are expected to benefit from China’s economic reopening.

But the manufacturing sector – which accounts for around 20% of the city state’s GDP – faces increasing headwinds as other major trading partners like the US and Europe suffer slowing growth.

For the October to December quarter of 2022, the growth rate was cut to 2.1% from the preliminary estimate of 2.2%, slowing down from the 4% clip in the July to September period.

Looking ahead, Singapore maintained that economic growth will decelerate further this year, coming in between 0.5% and 2.5%.

Export demand continues to weaken amid concern over a potential recession in advanced economies.