Government at a GlanceSoutheast Asia 2019
Country Fact Sheet
While human resources management (HRM) is quite centralised, Singapore’s recruitment system offers flexibility that could be important for tailoring services to citizens’ needs
Singapore’s score of 0.62 (above both the SEA and OECD averages of 0.41 and 0.54, respectively) on the composite index on the type of recruitment system indicates that it is more inclined towards a position-based system. This means that candidates usually apply directly to specific positions that are open to both internal and external candidates. While HRM policies and decisions are still fixed centrally, position-based systems offer more flexibility to line ministries to define their needs in response to changes in the environment, there-by attracting a wider diversity of perspectives, skills and experiences into the civil service.
Chapter 5. Human resources management
Type of recruitment system used in central government, 2016 and 2018
Citizens display high satisfaction with the health care, education and judicial systems in Singapore
In 2017, citizen satisfaction with the health care (93%) and judicial system and courts (89%) in Singapore were the highest among all SEA countries. With 86% of people satisfied with the education system and schools, Singapore ranks amongst the top, higher than the SEA average of 82.9% and the OECD average of 68.4% in 2017. In this area, Singapore displayed an excellent performance, emerging top in the 2016 OECD Programme of International Assessment (PISA) study. Moreover, in terms of access to services, Singapore fares the best on the index on the availability of educational materials.
Chapter 7. Serving citizens
Citizen satisfaction with the health care system, 2007 and 2017Citizen satisfaction with the education system and the schools, 2007 and 2017Citizen confidence in the judicial system and the courts, 2007 and 2017
Greater ownership and impact of open government initiatives could be developedby integrating them into other strategies, and a comprehensive open government strategy could help promote consistency
Although increasing citizen trust in public institutions and improving citizen participation in policy making have been identified as national objectives for Singapore, there is currently no country-specific definition for open government, nor a single national open government strategy. Instead, open government initiatives are integrated into other strategies. Having a strategy plays a role in consolidating initiatives across government and facilitating a focus on long-term and cross-cutting open government goals. It is a key element for build-ing a more effective, responsive and inclusive relationship between governments and stakeholders.
Chapter 6. Digital and open government
Existence of a single national open government strategy, 2018National policy objectives of open government initiatives, 2015 and 2018
Singapore
Fiscal balance(2016-2017)
Government expenditures(2016-2017)
Government investment*(2016)
% of GDP % of GDP % of GDP
G@G /dataG@G /data
Fiscal rules: Types and legal foundation (2017)*
Government revenues(2016-2017)
How to read the figures:Country value in blue
(not represented if not available)
Average of SEA countries in
purple
Range of SEA country values in
grey
Public Finance and Economics
10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
2016
20.0%
17.4%2017
17.7%2016
Singapore
0% 2% 4% 6% 8%
3.0%1.2%
Singapore
Values have been rounded. n.a. = not applicable or
data not available
% of GDP
Public Employment and Women’s Representation
* See notes Source: 2015 OECD Survey on Budget Practices and Procedures for Asian Countries, updated in 2018
Sources: IMF, World Economic Ooutlook database (IMF WEO)
OECD average or value
in green
Sources: IMF, World Economic Ooutlookdatabase (IMF WEO)
Sources: IMF, World Economic Ooutlookdatabase (IMF WEO)
Source: IMF Government Finance Statistics* See notes (IMF GFS) database
Share of womenparliamentarians
(2018)*
Share of womenministers
(2017)
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union* See notes (IPU) PARLINE database
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)“Women in Politics”
20.3%
23.0%Singapore
0% 10% 20% 30%
10.1%
5.3%Singapore
0% 10% 20% 30%
In how many countriesdo these typesof rules exist?
If yes, what is thelegal foundation?
Do these types of rules exist?
Budget balance (de�cit/surplus)
Legal foundations:
ConstitutionInternationalTreaty
Primary and/orSecondary Legislation
InternalRules/Policy
C IT L R
7642
Expenditure
Debt
Revenue
Politicalcommittment
P OtherO
33292715
C
L
L
NOYES
YESYES
Singapore
Who provides specialised budget analysisto the legislature?
(2017)
Source: 2015 OECD Survey on Budget Practices, updated in 2018
In how many countriesdo these types
of support exist?
Parliamentary Budget O�ce or specialised research unit
Specialised sta� of Budget/Finance Committee
Specialised sta� in political party secretariats
Individual member’s sta� 3
54
1NONO
2219
2015
NONO
Singapore
46.9%
n.a.Singapore
35% 40% 45% 50% 55% 60%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
2016
18.2%
23.3%2017
21.0%2016
Singapore
Budget
Share of public sectoremployment filled by
women (2016)*
Source: International Labour Organization* See notes (ILO) ILOSTAT database
Employment in public sector (2016)*
% of total employment
Source: International Labour Organization* See notes (ILO) ILOSTAT database
10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
15.4%
0%
n.a.
Singapore
-30% -10%-20% 0% +10%
-1.8%
Singapore2017
6.0% 3.3%
2016
2016
Budgetary information made publicly available (2017)
Dedicated PPP units and value for moneyassessments of PPPs and TIPs (2017)
Source: 2015 OECD Survey on Budget Practices and Procedures for Asian Countries, updated in 2018Source: 2015 OECD Survey on Budget Practices and Procedures for Asian Countries, updated in 2018
In how many countriesis this informationpublicly available?
Budget proposal
Budget approved
Methodology and economic assumptions for establishing �scal projections
Sensitivity analyses of �scal and/or macroeconomic models 3
10
65
NOYES
33
33
28
24
Budget circular
Independent reviews/analyses of macroeconomic and/or �scal assumptions
Pre-budget report
Long term perspective on total revenue and expenditure
7
3
5
1
20
28
23
24
YES
n.a.NONONO
NO
Singapore
In how many countriesdoes this practice exist?
Use of public private partnerships
Dedicated PPP unit reporting to Ministry of Finance
Dedicated PPP units reporting to line ministries
Other PPP unit 1
410
2
NOYES 26
12
82
Use of relative value for money assessments for PPPs
Use of absolute value for money assessments for PPPs
Use of absolute value for money assessments for TIPs
3 11YESNo dedicated PPP unit exists in central/federal government
n.a.n.a.n.a.
n.a.n.a.n.a.
Yes, for all projects Yes, for those abovecertain monetary threshold
Yes, ad hoc basis Yes, other
NONO
Singapore
Strategic Human Resources Management
0.41
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0.62Singapore
Type ofrecruitment system
usedin central government
(2018)*
Extent of delegation of HRM practices
in line ministriesin central government
(2018)*
Extent of the use of performance
assessments in HR decisions in central government (2018)*
Collection andavailability of
administrative HR data in central government
(2018)*
Extent of the use of separate HRM practices for senior civil servants in central government
(2018)*
0.50
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0.52Singapore 0.70
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
10.90Singapore
0.75
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0.73Singapore
0.68
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
10.95Singapore
Source: OECD Strategic Human ResourcesManagement Survey * See Notes
Source: OECD Strategic Human ResourcesManagement Survey * See Notes
Source: OECD Strategic Human ResourcesManagement Survey * See Notes
Source: OECD Strategic Human ResourcesManagement Survey * See Notes
Source: OECD Strategic Human ResourcesManagement Survey * See Notes
G@G /data
Budget
Open Government
Top five national policy objectives ofopen government initiatives
(2018)*
* See Notes Source: OECD (2018) Open Government and Open Data Survey
In how many countriesis this a national
objective?
Improve accountability of public sector
Improve responsiveness to citizens / businessImprove transparency of public sector
Improve e�ectiveness of public sector
4
66
5
NO
YES
YESImprove the e�ciency of the public sector
Prevent and �ght corruption
Improve citizen participation in policymaking
Increase citizen trust in public institutions
4333
YES
YES
Generate economic growth 1
YES
NONO
NO
Singapore
National policy objectives
1. Yes
1 2 3
Singapore
2. No, but open government initiatives are integrated in other strategies 3. No, there is no single strategic document including open government initiatives, nor are they integrated in other strategies
37.5% 12.5%50.0%
* See Notes Source: OECD (2018) Open Government and Open Data Survey
Existence of a single nationalopen government strategy
(2018)*
Existence of a main national citizens portal forgovernment services and of a legally recognised
digital identification (e.g. digital signature)mechanism (2018)
Source: OECD survey on digital government performance 2018
* See Notes Source: Source: Gallup World Poll (database)
0.46
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 10
0.40
0.54
Singapore
Dataavailability
Dataaccessibility
Governmentsupport to re-use
Satisfaction and confidence across public services(2017)*
79%
Judicial system Education system
93%
20
40
60
80
100
Health care
SingaporeAverage
Range
71%
83%86% 68%69%89% 56%
Singapore
Existence of a legally recogniseddigital identi�cation
(e.g. digital signature) mechanism
Existence of a main nationalcitizens portal
for government services
Number of countrieswhere it exists
YES
YES 7
9
Open Government Data
Serving Citizens
% of citizens expressing confidence/satisfaction
Digital Government
OURdata Index:Open, Useful, Reusable Government Data (2017)*
* See notes Source: OECD Survey on Open Government Data
Composite index: from 0 lowest to 1 highest
Digital Government
Notes• Government investment data for Viet Nam is for 2013. Data is recorded on a cash basis and refer to the government sector of budgetary central government. • Types and legal foundation of fiscal rules - Viet Nam’s revenue rules are referring to National Assembly’s resolutions for a 10-year financial strategy and a 5 year socioeconomic development plan. • Top five national policy objectives of open government initiatives - Countries selected the top five national policy objectives out of nine. • Satisfaction and confidence across public services - Health care and education data for Viet Nam are for 2016. Due to missing data, the SEA average does not include the countries listed for the following charts: • Government investment - Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Viet Nam; • Employment in public sector - Cambodia; • Share of public sector employment filled by women - Cambodia; • Share of women parliamentarians - Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar; • Strategic HRM - Myanmar; • Top five national policy objectives of open government initiatives - Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, Myanmar; • Existence of a single national open government strategy - Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, Myanmar; • OURdata index - Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar; • Satisfaction and confidence across public services - Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Viet Nam (for judicial system).
Source: OECD survey on digital government performance
In how many countriesare these
measurements used?
Measure the direct �nancial bene�tsof ICT projects in the central government
Measure the �nancial bene�ts for businessesof public ICT projects
Measure the �nancial bene�ts for citizensof public ICT projects
3
YES
YES
3
3
YES
Singapore
Measurement of direct financial benefits ofICT projects for central government,
businesses and citizens(2018)
Government at a Glance Southeast Asia 2019This first edition of Government at a Glance Southeast Asia 2019 draws on data collections from 10 Southeast Asian countries to better inform public sector reforms and evidence-based policy making in the region, with a key focus on a citizen-centric public service. The comparable data presented here also supports peer-to-peer learning between countries. This dashboard of key indicators aims to help policy makers and citizens analyse the relative performance of governments in this highly diverse and fast-developing region. Comparisons are also made against OECD countries in the region such as Australia, Korea, Japan and New Zealand. The 34 indicators cover key aspects of public management, including public finance and economics, public employment, budgeting practices and procedures, strategic human resources management, digital and open government, and citizen-centric services.Copyright © OECD, ADB 2019. This Work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 3.0 IGO (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO) public license.
https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264305915-en
The Excel spreadsheets used to create the tables and figures in Government at a Glance Southeast Asia 2019 are available via the StatLinks provided throughout the publication:
For more information on the data (including full methodology and figure notes)and to consult all other Country Fact Sheets: http://oe.cd/gov-data-sea