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| National motto: Majulah Singapura (Malay: Onward, Singapore) | ||||
| Official languages | English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil | |||
| National language | Malay | |||
| Capital | Singapore | |||
| President | S. R. Nathan | |||
| Prime Minister | Goh Chok Tong | |||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 174th 692.7 km² 1.444% | |||
| Population - Total (July 2003 est.) - Density | Ranked 115th 4,608,595 6751/km² | |||
| Independence - Date | From Malaysia August 9, 1965 | |||
| Currency | Singapore Dollar (S$, SGD) | |||
| Time zone | UTC +8 | |||
| National anthem | Majulah Singapura | |||
| Internet TLD | .SG | |||
| Calling code | 65 | |||
| Table of contents |
|
2 Politics 3 Economy 4 Geography 5 Demographics 6 Culture 7 Laws 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 Reference 10 External links |
Modern Singapore was founded in 1819 as a British trading settlement. The British surrendered Singapore to Japan during World War II, and it was returned to British administration in 1945. Self-government was granted by the British in 1959. In 1963 Singapore joined Malaysia but separated from Malaysia in 1965 and was re-instituted as an independent republic. It has subsequently become one of the world's most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP above that of the leading nations of Western Europe. During the early years, it was led by prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, whose policies were responsible for Singapore's prosperity and authoritarianism.
Singapore has a Westminster-style constitution. In practice, politics is dominated by the People's Action Party which has ruled since Independence. The mode of government is perhaps closer to authoritarianism than true democracy. Paradoxically (for political scientists), Singapore has a highly successful, corruption-free, and transparent market economy.
Singapore enjoys a highly developed and successful free-market economy, characterised by a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing, and was hard hit in 2001 by the global recession and the slump in the technology sector. In 2001, GDP contracted by 2.2%. The economy is expected to recover in 2002 in response to improvements in the US economy, and GDP growth for 2002 is projected to be 3% to 4%. In the longer term the government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle than the current export-led model, but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub.
Singapore's main territory is a diamond-shaped piece of land that would be an island, if it was not connected to the Malay Peninsula by a man-made causeway to the north. There is also a bridge to the west. Singapore also has dozens of smaller islands, of which Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest. Since Singapore basically consists of only one city, there are no further administrative divisions.
Apart from the much smaller Monaco, Singapore is the most densely populated independent country in the world.
Singapore's population is diverse. Chinese people account for 3/4 of the population. Malayss are the second largest ethnic group and were the indigenous or native group of the country.Indianss are the third largest ethnic group. The official languages are English, Mandarin (Chinese), Malay and Tamil.
Malay is also Singapore's national language but this is largely symbolic,
being the language of the national anthem. The ruling PAP has preferred to promote English as the country's lingua franca, with Malay being confined largely to its native speakers, with relatively few Chinese and Indian Singaporeans speaking it.
History
Main article: History of SingaporePolitics
Main article: Politics of SingaporeEconomy
Main article: Economy of SingaporeGeography
Main article: Geography of SingaporeDemographics
Main article: Demographics of SingaporeCulture
Main article: Culture of SingaporeLaws
Laws are often strict (there is a saying "Everything that is fun is illegal in Singapore"), with a slight tendency to relax some laws, e.g.:
Note: Wikipedia does not give legal advice
Miscellaneous topics
Reference
External links
Panorama of Singapore from Boat Quay ()
