Singapore

The island nation of Singapore in situated at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It is one of the few city states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia. The islands are located between Malaysia and Indonesia, having no land boundary with any country. It is the 17th richest country in the world. It is a Member of United Nations, the Commonwealth, ASEAN and the Non-Aligned Movement. Singapore Armed Forces are divided by the departments of the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy, and the Republic of Singapore Air Force.


HISTORY:- Singapore had been the outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya Empire. During 16th century, it had come under the rule of the Sultanate of Johor. Portuguese and England appeared to the island to carry on spice trade. During World War II, Singapore was invaded by the Japanese army. In the battle of Singapore, Japanese army defeated British force and occupied Singapore in 15th February, 1942. But on 12th September, 1945 British power regained its hold over the island. In 1946, Singapore had been transformed into a Crown colony of Britain. In 1959, Singapore gained its complete self government under the British, with Yusof bin Ishak as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara and Lee Kuan Yew as the first Prime Minister. Singapore declared independence from Britain unofficially in 1963, and gained it officially on 9th August, 1965. Yusof bin Ishak became the first President of the nation.

GEOGRAPHY:- Geographic location of Singapore is in Southern Asia at 1 22 N, 103 48 E. Singapore comprises 63 islands, occupying total 692.7 sq km (land-682.7 sq km, water-10 sq km). The coastline is 193 km long. The lowest point is Singapore Strait (0 m) and the highest point is Bukit Timah (166 m). The terrain is mainly low. Undulating central plateau possesses water catchment area and nature preserves.

 

CLIMATE:- The climate of Singapore is tropical, hot, humid, rainy. There are two distinct monsoon seasons -Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Southwestern monsoon (June to September). Thunderstorms are very frequent in afternoon and early evening.

 

GOVERNMENT:- Singapore is parliamentary republican country. The constitution was based on the State of Singapore Constitution before independence. The constitution was adopted on 3rd June, 1959. The three departments of the government are:

Executive branch consists of the President (chief of state), Prime minister (head of government) and cabinet.

Legislative branch consists of the unicameral Parliament (84 members).

Judicial branch consists is the High Court, Court of Appeal, and other subordinate courts.

Prominent political parties are People's Action Party, Workers' Party, Singapore's Peoples Party, Singapore Democratic Party, Singapore Democratic Alliance. The People's Action Party holds the major power of the government and parliament. Suffrage is universal and compulsory at and above 21.

President  Sellapan Ramanathan

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

 

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- There is no province or sub-region under Singapore.

CULTURE:- Singapore’s cuisine is a fusion of Chinese, Indian, Malay and Tamil dishes, with a variety of seafoods. Among the local dishes bak chor mee, mee poh, sambal stingray, laksa, nasi lemak, chili crab and satay are popular. Since 1990, the government of Singapore has been promoting it as a cultural centre. Football, cricket, swimming, badminton, basketball, rugby union, volleyball and table tennis are the most popular sports. Singapore participates internationally in table tennis, badminton, bowling, sailing, silat, swimming and water polo.

ECONOMY:- Singapore is a highly developed country, which has free market economy. Singapore is one of the Four Asian Tigers with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. It has world’s 4th largest foreign exchange trading centre and the most business-friendly economy in the world.

GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $132.3 billion; per capita $29,900.

Real growth rate: 5.7%.

Inflation: 1%.

Unemployment: 3.3%.

Arable land: 2%.

Agriculture: rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables; poultry, eggs; fish, ornamental fish.

Labor force: 2.28 million (Sept. 2005 est.); manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, financial, business, and other services 39%, other 26% (2003).

Industries: electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, life sciences, entrepôt trade. Natural resources: fish, deepwater ports.

Exports: $204.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs.

Imports: $188.3 billion (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs.

Major trading partners: Malaysia, U.S., Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea (2004)

Budget:  

Revenues: $27 billion

Expenditures: $21.5 billion (2007 est.)

 

Public debt: 101.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Defense (FY 2007): 4.0% of gross domestic product.

Free Trade Agreements:-

1. ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)

2. ASEAN-China (ACFTA)

3. ASEAN-Korea (AKFTA)

4. Australia (SAFTA)

5. EFTA (European Free Trade Association: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland)

6. Jordan (SJFTA)

7. India (CECA)

8. Japan (JSEPA)

9. New Zealand (ANZSCEP)

10. Panama (PSFTA)

11. Peru

12. South Korea (KSFTA)

13. Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (Trans-Pacific SEP): Brunei, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore

14. United States of America USSFTA

Monetary unit: Singapore dollar

 

LANGUAGE:- Mandarin (35%), English (23%), Malay (14.1%), Tamil (3.2%) are the official languages. Other dialects are Hokkien (11.4%), Cantonese (5.7%), Teochew (4.9%), other Chinese dialects (1.8%), other (0.9%) (2000). English is the administrative language of Singapore.

 

CITIES:- The capital and largest city is Singapore city. The country is a city state.

 

POPULATION:- The population of Singapore is 4,553,009 with a growth rate of 1.3%.

Density per sq mi: 18,898

Literacy rate: 93% (2003 est.)

 

RACE:-

Chinese 76.8%

Malay 13.9%

Indian 7.9%

other 1.4% (2000)

 

RELIGION:-

Buddhism 42.5%

No religion 14.8%

Christianity 14.6%

Islam    13.9%

Taoism    8.5%

Hinduism  4%

Others    1.6%

 

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 8.99 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 4.53 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 2.3 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 81.89 years

Total fertility rate: 1.08 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 1,140

 

UNICEF:- UNICEF in Singapore mainly focuses on child malnutrition, education, health, protection of women and children and HIV. Vaccinations of polio, TB, measles have been also organized. UNICEF in Singapore also works on orphans’ enrolment in schools.

 

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 38.6 km.

Highways: total: 3,066 km; paved: 3,066 km, unpaved: 0 km (1999).

Ports and harbors: Singapore.

Airports: 9 (2002).

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