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. Singapore 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.
Location
Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Geographic coordinates
1 22 N, 103 48 E
Map references
Southeast Asia
Area
total
692.7 sq km
land
682.7 sq km
water
10 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries
0 km
Coastline
193 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
3 nm
exclusive fishing zone
within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice
Climate
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
Terrain
lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve
Elevation extremes
lowest point
Singapore Strait 0 m
highest point
Bukit Timah 166 m
Natural resources
fish, deepwater ports
Land use
arable land
1.47%
permanent crops
1.47%
other
97.06% (2005)
Irrigated land
NA
Natural hazards
NA
Environment - current issues
industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia
Environment - international agreements
party to
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes
Population
4,553,009 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
15.2% (male 358,064/female 333,702)
15-64 years
76.3% (male 1,692,817/female 1,780,982)
65 years and over
8.5% (male 171,876/female 215,568) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
37.8 years
male
37.4 years
female
38.2 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
1.275% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
9.17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
4.4 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
7.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years
1.073 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.797 male(s)/female
total population
0.954 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
2.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male
2.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female
2.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
81.8 years
male
79.21 years
female
84.59 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.07 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
0.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
4,100 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
less than 200 (2003 est.)
Nationality
noun
Singaporean(s)
adjective
Singapore
Ethnic groups
Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census)
Religions
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)
Languages
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)
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
92.5%
male
96.6%
female
88.6% (2000 census)
Country name
conventional long form
Republic of Singapore
conventional short form
Singapore
local long form
Republic of Singapore
local short form
Singapore
Government type
parliamentary republic
Capital
name
Singapore
geographic coordinates
1 17 N, 103 51 E
time difference
UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions
none
Independence
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
National holiday
National Day, 9 August (1965)
Constitution
3 June 1959; amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution)
Legal system
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
21 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch
chief of state
President S R NATHAN (since 1 September 1999)
note
uses S R NATHAN but his full name and the one used in formal communications is Sellapan RAMANATHAN
head of government
Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004); Senior Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 12 August 2004); Minister Mentor LEE Kuan Yew (since 12 August 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers Shunmugan JAYAKUMAR (since 12 August 2004) and WONG Kan Seng (since 1 September 2005)
cabinet
appointed by president, responsible to parliament
elections
president elected by popular vote for six-year term; appointed on 17 August 2005 - (next election to be held by August 2011); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by president; deputy prime ministers appointed by president
election results
Sellapan Rama (S R) NATHAN appointed president in August 2005 after Presidential Elections Committee disqualified three other would-be candidates; scheduled election not held
Legislative branch
unicameral Parliament (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; up to three losing opposition candidates who came closest to winning seats may be appointed as "nonconstituency" members
elections: last held on 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
Judicial branch
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
Political parties and leaders
People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]; Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong]; Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Workers' Party or WP [Sylvia LIM Swee Lian]
note: SDA includes National Solidarity Party or NSP, Singapore Justice Party or SJP, Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS, Singapore People's Party or SPP
two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle
Economy - overview
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$141.2 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$122.1 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
7.9% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$31,400 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
0%
industry
33.8%
services
66.2% (2006 est.)
Labor force
2.4 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, financial, business, and other services 39%, other 26% (2003)
Unemployment rate
3.1% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
NA%
highest 10%
NA%
Distribution of family income - Gini index
42.5 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
1% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
21.8% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$19.71 billion
expenditures
$19.85 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.1 billion (2006 est.)
Public debt
100.6% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products
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, entrepot trade
Industrial production growth rate
12.6% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production
32.64 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
100%
hydro
0%
nuclear
0%
other
0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
30.35 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2004)
Oil - production
9,701 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption
800,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports
NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
6.61 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports
6.61 billion cu m
note: from Indonesia and Malaysia (2004 est.)
Current account balance
$35.58 billion (2006 est.)
Exports
$283.6 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels
Exports - partners
Malaysia 13.1%, US 10.2%, Hong Kong 10.1%, China 9.7%, Indonesia 9.2%, Japan 5.5%, Thailand 4.2% (2006)
Imports
$246.1 billion (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners
Malaysia 13%, US 12.7%, China 11.4%, Japan 8.3%, Taiwan 6.4%, Indonesia 6.2%, South Korea 4.4% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$134.6 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$24.3 billion (2006 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$NA
Currency (code)
Singapore dollar (SGD)
Currency code
SGD
Exchange rates
Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.5889 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003), 1.7906 (2002)
Fiscal year
1 April - 31 March
Telephones - main lines in use
1.848 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
4.385 million (2005)
Telephone system
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; satellite earth stations -4; supplemented by VSAT coverage (2003)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003)
Radios
2.6 million (2000)
Television broadcast stations
1 (broadcasting on six channels); additional reception of numerous UHF and VHF signals originating in Malaysia and Indonesia (2006)
Televisions
1.33 million (1997)
Internet country code
.sg
Internet hosts
898,762 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
9 (2000)
Internet users
2.422 million (2005)
Airports
9 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
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 (2006)
Pipelines
gas 139 km; refined products 8 km (2006)
Roadways
total
3,234 km
paved
3,234 km (includes 150 km of expressways) (2005)
Merchant marine
total
1,063 ships (1000 GRT or over) 31,033,735 GRT/49,715,650 DWT
by type
bulk carrier 155, cargo 87, chemical tanker 136, container 214, liquefied gas 53, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 353, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 40
foreign-owned
592 (Australia 7, Bangladesh 1, Belgium 12, China 23, Denmark 52, Germany 9, Greece 9, Hong Kong 50, India 5, Indonesia 56, Italy 2, Japan 100, South Korea 17, Malaysia 35, Netherlands 2, Norway 90, Philippines 5, Slovenia 1, Sweden 12, Taiwan 59, Thailand 22, UAE 7, UK 9, US 7)
registered in other countries
285 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 12, Belize 6, Bolivia 3, Cambodia 4, Cayman Islands 10, Cyprus 1, Dominica 9, France 2, Honduras 11, Hong Kong 24, Indonesia 17, Isle of Man 7, North Korea 1, Liberia 28, Malaysia 44, Marshall Islands 6, Mongolia 10, Nigeria 1, Panama 67, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5, Thailand 6, Tuvalu 6, US 2, unknown 2) (2006)
Ports and terminals
Singapore
Military branches
Singapore Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Republic of Singapore Air Force (includes Air Defense) (2006)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; conscript service obligation reduced to 24 months beginning December 2004 (2004)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49: 1,215,568 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49: 982,368 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
4.9% (2005 est.)
Disputes - international
disputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works, bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; in November 2007, the ICJ will hold public hearings as a consequence of the Memorials and Countermemorials filed by the parties in 2003 and 2005 over sovereignty of Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge; Indonesia and Singapore continue to work on finalization of their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Indonesia's Batam Island; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait
Illicit drugs
drug abuse limited because of aggressive law enforcement efforts; as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, as a venue for money laundering
