Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator, in Southeast Asia. It is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north, and from Indonesia’s Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore is the world’s fourth leading financial centre and a cosmopolitan world city, playing a key role in international trade and finance. The port of Singapore is one of the five busiest ports in the world.
Singapore has a long history of immigration. It has a diverse population of close to 5 million people made up of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Asians of various descents, and Caucasians. 42% of the population in Singapore are foreigners who work and study there. Foreign workers make up 50% of the service sector. The country is the second most densely populated in the world after Monaco. A.T. Kearney named Singapore the most globalised country in the world in 2006 in its Globalization Index.
Before independence in 1965, Singapore was a vibrant trading port with a GDP per capita of $511, the third highest in East Asia then. After independence, foreign direct investment and a state-led drive for industrialisation based on plans by former Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Goh Keng Swee created a modern economy.
The Economist Intelligence Unit in its "Quality-Of-Life Index" ranks Singapore as having the best quality of life in Asia and eleventh overall in the world. Singapore possesses the world’s ninth largest foreign reserves. The country also maintains armed forces that are technologically advanced and well-equipped.
After a contraction of -6.8% in the 4th quarter of 2009, Singapore claimed the title of fastest-growing economy in the world, with GDP growth of 17.9% in the first half of 2010.
Other Information
- Capital : Singapore
- Official languages : English (Main language), Malay (National language), Mandarin Chinese, Tamil
- Demonym : Singaporean
- Government : Parliamentary republic
- President : S.R. Nathan
- Prime Minister : Lee Hsien Loong
- Legislature : Parliament
- Founding : 29 January 1819
- Self-government : 3 June 1959
- Independence from the United Kingdom : 31 August 1963
- Merger with Malaysia : 16 September 1963
- Separation from Malaysia : 9 August 1965
- Area : Total 710.2 km2 , 274.2 sq mi
- Water (%) : 1.444
- Population : 2009 estimate 4,987,600 , 2010 census : 5,076,700
- Density : 7,022/km2 17,275.7/sq mi
- GDP (PPP) :
- 2010 estimate : $255.338 billion
- Per capita : $52,839
- GDP (nominal) : 2010 estimate
- HDI (2010) : 0.846 (very high)
- Currency : Singapore dollar (
SGD) - Time zone : SST (UTC+8)
- Date formats : dd/mm/yyyy
- Drives on the : left
- ISO 3166 code : SG
- Internet TLD : .sg
- Calling code : +65