How did Singapore transform from a poor nation to a wealthy global economic powerhouse in just 60 years?

Singapore transformed from a deeply impoverished nation with a GDP per capita of just $511 in 1965 to one of the world's wealthiest cities with a current GDP per capita of $89,000. At independence, the country faced 14% unemployment, 70% of people lived in overcrowded conditions, half the population was illiterate, and it had zero natural resources or freshwater. Despite these humble beginnings, through strategic governance, focus on education, and attracting foreign investment, Singapore evolved within a single human lifetime to become the world's third most significant global financial center, demonstrating one of history's most dramatic national economic transformations.