A nominal amount is stated in the money of its own day; a real amount strips out price changes so sums from different years can be compared. Using SingStat’s annual CPI (2024 = 100), Money Snap calculates that SGD 100 of spending in 2015 equals about SGD 118.65 in 2025 prices. In 2025, MOM’s median gross monthly income of full-time employed residents (including employer CPF) rose 5% in nominal terms and 4.1% in real terms.
Key takeaways
- SingStat values nominal estimates at the prices of the current period and real estimates with the effect of price changes removed. It lists deriving real values as one of the CPI’s three uses, with measuring consumer price inflation and informing policy; the CPI measures average price changes, not price levels.
- To restate an amount in another year’s prices, divide by the CPI of its own year and multiply by the CPI of the target year. SingStat’s annual CPI is the simple average of the 12 monthly indices; the CPI was rebased from 2019 = 100 to 2024 = 100, with the 2024-based series first released on 24 February 2025 and the older series linked by a link factor so it stays continuous.
- MOM deflates incomes by the CPI for all items at 2024 prices. Median gross monthly income from employment of full-time employed residents (including employer CPF contributions and one-twelfth of annual bonuses) rose 2.5% in 2023 but fell 2.2% in real terms; it rose 5.8% (3.4% real) in 2024 and 5% (4.1% real) in 2025, to SGD 5,775. Over mid-2015 to mid-2025 it grew 3.9% a year nominal and 2.1% a year real.
- Real GDP is compiled in chained (2015) dollars; the GDP deflator (2015 = 100), the ratio of nominal to real GDP with the 2015 index set at 100, measures price change across everything in GDP, while the CPI covers the household consumption basket. In 2025 GDP grew 3.1% in nominal terms but 5% in real terms, because the GDP deflator fell from 135.4 to 132.9; in 2024 nominal growth was 11.5% and real 5.3%.
- MAS describes inflation as eroding the value of money, and notes that most contracts are set in nominal terms, so when inflation turns out higher than expected, the real value of debt and interest repaid is lower than was expected at the start of the loan. MoneySense’s Rule of 72 approximates the years for the cost of living to double as 72 divided by the inflation rate.
What is the difference between real and nominal value?
Money amounts can be stated in nominal or real terms; a price index links the two.
SingStat notes the CPI reflects the inflation experience of all resident households together, so it may not match any one household’s, because spending patterns differ.
What SGD 100 from past years is worth in 2025 prices
SingStat’s annual CPI (2024 = 100) and Money Snap’s arithmetic: SGD 100 × CPI 2025 ÷ CPI of the year.
| Year | CPI (2024 = 100) | SGD 100 then, in 2025 prices |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 85.046 | SGD 118.65 |
| 2017 | 85.084 | SGD 118.59 |
| 2019 | 85.942 | SGD 117.41 |
| 2021 | 87.781 | SGD 114.95 |
| 2022 | 93.163 | SGD 108.31 |
| 2023 | 97.666 | SGD 103.31 |
| 2024 | 100.000 | SGD 100.90 |
| 2025 | 100.903 | SGD 100.00 |
MOM’s median pay, 2024 to 2025
MOM’s figures cover full-time employed residents and include employer CPF contributions. MOM’s 4.1% matches 1.050 ÷ 1.009 − 1 (Money Snap’s check). The 2023 figures show that MOM’s real change matches dividing by inflation rather than subtracting it: 1.025 ÷ 1.048 − 1 gives MOM’s −2.2%, while 2.5% − 4.8% would give −2.3%.
Where real and nominal values show up
Five things people get wrong
- SingStat — CPI: Our Data Explained — what the CPI measures and how the annual index is built
- SingStat — TableBuilder M213801 (annual CPI) — the index levels by year
- SingStat — Rebasing the CPI to 2024 — the 2024 base and the link factor
- SingStat — National Accounts: Our Data Explained — nominal, real and the GDP deflator
- SingStat — National Accounts: Latest data — 2025 GDP growth
- MOM — Income Summary Table — nominal and real income growth
- MOM — Labour Force in Singapore 2025 — the 2025 median income
- MOM — Labour Force in Singapore 2024 — the 2023 and 2024 median income
- MAS — What is inflation? — inflation and the value of money
- MAS — Economics Explorer #2: Inflation — nominal contracts and the real value of debt
- MAS — CPI inflation calculators — annual CPI from 1961
- MoneySense — Planning for retirement — the Rule of 72
- MoneySense — Taking care of your investment portfolio — inflation and real returns
Official SingStat, MOM, MAS and MoneySense data and explanations, for general information only. Not financial advice.
This page is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice. All figures and worked examples are estimates for illustrative purposes, are subject to change, and do not reflect any individual’s circumstances. Always refer to SingStat, MOM, MAS and MoneySense and seek independent professional advice before making any financial decisions.