Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed below are solely the author’s. The data is taken from the Sensing SG survey by Blackbox Research.
The impact of the Iran war is being felt by Singaporeans, according to the latest update of a long-running domestic sentiment survey conducted by Blackbox Research on nearly 1,500 residents in Apr. The disruption caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has led to oil and gas shortages across Asia, is also reflected in higher energy and fuel prices in Singapore.
This, again, affects not only the cost of daily transportation or electricity prices, but also the cost of many goods, since the country imports almost everything, and all those goods must arrive by plane, road, or, especially, by sea.
It’s no surprise then that the cost of living has risen again as the top concern nationally, rising from 34% of respondents in Q4 2025 to 46% in Q1 2026.
What’s more, according to Blackbox, only 46% of Singaporeans feel better today than last yearwhich is the lowest reading on record and a sharp decline from 54% in Q4 2025.
And hope for the future is melting just as quickly.
43% of respondents believe the country will be doing better a year from now (down from 53%), while the share of those who think it will be worse has doubled from 19% to 38%.
There is a warning to the government hidden in these figures, too, as public confidence in managing cost pressures is on the wane.
Although the Government continued to receive high marks for Defense and National Security, which increased by six percentage points to 90%, its performance on the Cost of Living fell by six points to 46%.
Other key measures, such as housing affordability, wealth gap, and GST, all fell by at least three percent.
While most people may be happy with the way the country is being run, they expect the authorities to quickly fix problems like those caused by a distant, foreign war. As the measures announced by PM Wong are scheduled to be rolled out in the coming months, most people have yet to feel it in their wallets.
Singaporeans still believe in them
Interestingly, pessimism about the next 12 months in Singapore does not translate into skepticism, as more than half of local residents (52%) still expect improvement. Although it is down from 59% in Dec, it is very small.
Similarly, only 19% see themselves falling behind in the next year—half of those predicting that will be the case nationwide.
Furthermore, despite the storms caused by the war, 86.3% are satisfied with the current situation in Singapore, 81.4% rate the state of the economy well, and 76.5% are happy with their personal finances.
In other words, even though many people are worried about what a turbulent future may bring, most are still very comfortable where they are. And feel the same about Singapore as a whole, too.
- Read other articles we have written on Singapore current affairs here.
Featured Image Credit: Guo Xin Goh via Unsplash
