Singapore climbs to 4th place on the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025

This marks a major breakthrough, as never before has a country outside of the US, UK Israel, and Canada reached the global top four, the Index noted.

Singapore has risen one spot to claim fourth place in the 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Index by StartupBlink.

According to the Index, which ranked 118 countries, a clear distinction has been seen between the "big three" on the Index —the US (first), the UK (second), and Israel (third) — and Singapore, which is closing in on the top tier. These countries maintain a significant gap between them, but Singapore is rapidly narrowing the distance.

The top 10 countries ranked on the Index are:

1. The US (maintained)
2. The UK (maintained)
3. Israel (maintained)
4. Singapore (+1)
5. Canada (-1)
6. Sweden (maintained)
7. Germany (maintained)
8. France (maintained)
9. Switzerland (+1)
10. The Netherlands (-1)

Additionally, here's a snapshot of the Asian countries that have made the top 100:

13. China
18. Japan
20. South Korea
22. India
25. Taiwan
44. Malaysia
45. Indonesia
53. Thailand
55. Vietnam
64. The Philippines
68. Sri Lanka
72. Pakistan
79. Bangladesh

A look at Singapore's performance

Singapore continues to advance both at the country and city levels, consistently climbing the global startup rankings year after year. In 2025, Singapore achieved a 44.91% growth rate in the latest index, leading to a swap in places with Canada, which now takes fifth place after holding on to fourth since the introduction of the Index. This marks a major breakthrough, as never before has a country outside of the US, UK Israel, and Canada reached the global top four, the Index noted. It is also the only shift within the global top five this year.

Among the top 20 startup ecosystems, Singapore has one of the highest growth rates, significantly outpacing the average of 28.5%. Since 2020, the country has climbed 12 places in the rankings, making it one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems worldwide.

After surpassing China in 2022, Singapore has now doubled China’s score, further cementing its position as Asia’s leading startup hub. On an industry level, Singapore ranks second globally in both the e-commerce & retail and fintech sectors.

The country also stands out in fintech-related subindustries — ranking first globally in financial services, and second in both blockchain and virtual currency.

At the city level, Singapore rises four spots to 12^th globally — the highest climb among the top 25 cities. It also recorded more than 50% growth in 2025, the most significant increase within the global top 40. Over the past six years, it has moved from 26^th to 14^th, demonstrating strong and consistent growth momentum.

Regionally, Singapore breaks into Asia’s top five startup cities, overtaking Tokyo. Among cities with populations between two and 10mn, it now ranks sixth globally — a three-place improvement from the previous year. Singapore also ranks in the global top 10 for three major industries:

• Fintech (fourth),
• Ecommerce & retail (seventh), and
• Edtech (ninth).

Within Fintech, it performs particularly well in the blockchain subindustry, where it holds third place globally.

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