Quora Answer: Why is Singapore Considered a False First World Nation?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Why is Singapore considered a false First World country, considering that it obtained its economic strength through banking and trading, not through industrial and technological strength?” 

Singapore was never a First World nation.  “First World” is a term from the Cold War, referring to nations aligned with NATO.  The Second World were nations of the Communist bloc aligned with the Warsaw Pact, or China.  Singapore, as a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, was neutral, and thus, Third World. 

Officially, Singapore could be classified as a high-income developing country, or a newly industrialised economy.  It is useful for Singapore to maintain that status.  It also allows Singapore the option of exploiting WTO and other supranational organisation provisions for developing nations, giving the country an advantage.  Singapore has strenuously denied taking advantage of those provisions.  These classifications are essentially a joke.  The IMF, the HDI, the OECE, the World Bank, and others all use different metrics.  According to the Human Development Index, Singapore is developed, being near the top of the list.  According to the OECD, and the WTO, Singapore claims to be a developing nation. 

This claim of being a developing nation of any sort is belief by the fact that Singapore is one of the few countries with a AAA credit rating, and the only one in Asia.  Not even Japan, South Korea, or China has it.  It also sits on the world’s tenth largest foreign reserves, and is one of the world’s top creditor nations.  It has of the 4^th highest GDP per capita in the world.  Singapore is the 3^rd largest oil refinery market, and one of exports high technology products.  The semiconductor industry is more than 5% of GDP.  It is also a centre of chemical engineering, biotechnology, and the biomedical sciences, with some of the most advanced facilities in the world.  Singapore is also one of the top arms exporters in the world, specialising in advanced, and specialised equipment.  This is in addition to having the busiest port and airport, and being the fourth largest finance centre in the world.  In summary, the fact that Singapore claims to be a developing nation in any guise is a bit of a running joke.