The balance of payments is a systematic record of all economic transactions between residents of an economy and residents of the rest of the world in an accounting period. It is very useful for assessing the external performance of an economy and for formulating policies connected with it.

The compilation of Singapore's balance of payments estimates is based on the principles recomended by the International Monetary Fund's "Balance of Payments Manual, 5th Edition". The structure and classification of Singapore's balance of payments accounts follow the fifth edition of the manual.