Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.

Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia

1 22 N, 103 48 E

total: 692.7 sq km
land: 682.7 sq km
water: 10 sq km

0 km

193 km

territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice

tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms

 lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve

lowest point: Singapore Strait 0 m
highest point: Bukit Timah 166 m

fish, deepwater ports

arable land: 1.47%
permanent crops: 1.47%
other: 97.06% (2005)

industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia

focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes

4,492,150 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 15.6% (male 362,329/female 337,964)
15-64 years: 76.1% (male 1,666,709/female 1,750,736)
65 years and over: 8.3% (male 165,823/female 208,589) (2006 est.)

total: 37.3 years
male: 36.9 years
female: 37.6 years (2006 est.)

1.42% (2006 est.)

9.34 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

4.28 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

9.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 2.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 81.71 years
male: 79.13 years
female: 84.49 years (2006 est.)

1.06 children born/woman (2006 est.)

0.2% (2003 est.)

4,100 (2003 est.)

less than 200 (2003 est.)

noun: Singaporean(s)
adjective: Singapore

Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census)

Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census)

Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5%
male: 96.6%
female: 88.6% (2002)

conventional long form: Republic of Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore

parliamentary republic

Singapore

9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)

National Day, 9 August (1965)

3 June 1959; amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution)

based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

21 years of age; universal and compulsory

unicameral Parliament (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; the losing opposition candidate who came closest to winning a seat may be appointed as a "nonconstituency" member
elections: last held 6 May 2006 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 66.6%, WP 16.3%, SDA 13%, SDP 4.1%; seats by party - PAP 82, WP 1, SDA 1

Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals

Singapore, a highly-developed and successful free-market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a per capita GDP equal to that of the four largest West European countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It was hard hit in 2001-03 by the global recession, by the slump in the technology sector, and by an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, which curbed tourism and consumer spending. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. Fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, a surge in exports, and internal flexibility led to vigorous growth in 2004, with real GDP rising by 8% - by far the economy's best performance since 2000 - but growth slowed to 5.7% in 2005.

$132.3 billion (2005 est.)

$111.5 billion (2005 est.)

5.7% (2005 est.)

$29,900 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 0% negligible
industry: 33.6%
services: 66.4% (2005 est.)

2.28 million (September 2005 est.)

manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, financial, business, and other services 39%, other 26% (2003)

3.3% (2005 est.)

42.5 (1998)

1% (2005)

23% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $18.67 billion
expenditures: $18.21 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.1 billion (2005 est.)

102% of GDP (2005 est.)

rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables; poultry, eggs; fish, ornamental fish

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, entrepot trade

8.6% (2005 est.)

36.8 billion kWh (2004)

33.2 billion kWh (2004)

8,290 bbl/day (2003 est.)

800,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

5.32 billion cu m (2003 est.)

2.5 billion cu m
note: from Indonesia and Malaysia (2001 est.)

$25.24 billion (2005 est.)

$204.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels

Malaysia 15.2%, US 13%, Hong Kong 9.8%, China 8.6%, Japan 6.4%, Taiwan 4.6%, Thailand 4.3%, South Korea 4.1% (2004)

$188.3 billion (2005 est.)

machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs

Malaysia 15.3%, US 12.7%, Japan 11.7%, China 9.9%, Taiwan 5.7%, South Korea 4.3%, Thailand 4.1% (2004)

$123.5 billion (2005 est.)

$24.67 billion (2005 est.)

Singapore dollar (SGD)

1 April - 31 March

1,847,800 (2005)

4,256,800 (2005)

general assessment: excellent service
domestic: excellent domestic facilities; launched 3G wireless service in February 2005
international: country code - 65; 9 submarine cables provide direct connection to more than 100 countries; 4 satellite earth stations, supplemented by VSAT coverage

AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003)

1 (broadcasting on six channels); additional reception of numerous UHF and VHF signals originating in Malaysia and Indonesia; note - digital TV for reception in public spaces and transportation is transmitted from 10 sites (2006)

.sg

679,369 (2005)

2,421,800 (2005)

9 (2005)

total: 9
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2005)

gas 139 km (2004)

total: 3,165 km
paved: 3,130 km (including 150 km of expressways) (2003)

total: 1,003 ships (1000 GRT or over) 29,116,937 GRT/46,517,745 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 149, cargo 85, chemical tanker 128, container 196, liquefied gas 45, livestock carrier 2, petroleum tanker 340, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 9, vehicle carrier 39
foreign-owned: 554 (Australia 6, Bangladesh 1, Belgium 9, China 20, Denmark 44, Germany 7, Greece 8, Hong Kong 53, India 4, Indonesia 49, Japan 93, South Korea 17, Malaysia 35, Netherlands 1, Norway 96, Philippines 3, Slovenia 1, Sweden 12, Taiwan 49, Thailand 23, UAE 7, UK 10, US 6)
registered in other countries: 277 (The Bahamas 14, Bangladesh 9, Belize 4, Bolivia 2, Cambodia 4, Cyprus 2, Dominica 11, Honduras 12, Hong Kong 25, Indonesia 14, Isle of Man 8, South Korea 1, Liberia 16, Malaysia 56, Marshall Islands 5, Mongolia 8, Nigeria 1, Norway 4, Panama 57, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7, Thailand 9, Tuvalu 2, Venezuela 1, unknown 5) (2005)

Singapore

Singapore Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense (2005)

disputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works, bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Batam Island; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait

as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, as a venue for money laundering