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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. Singapore is the world's fourth leading financial centre and its economy is often ranked amongst the world's top ten most open, competitive and innovative. The country is also a highly cosmopolitan World City, with a key role in international trade and finance. Singapore has a diverse populace of 5 million people made up of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Asians and Caucasians of different ethnic origins. This is in line with the nation's history as an immigrant nation. The populace of Singapore has the sixth highest percentage of foreigners in the world. 42% of the population in Singapore are foreigners and foreigners make up 50% of the service sector. The country is also the second most densely populated in the world after Monaco. A.T. Kearney names Singapore as the most globalised country in the world in its Globalization Index. Even before independence in 1965, Singapore was already one of the richest states in East Asia due to its strategic location as a port. Singapore's GDP per capita in 1965 was $511, third highest in East Asia after Japan and Hong Kong.[19] After independence, Foreign direct investment into Singapore and a state-led drive for industrialization based on plans by Dr Goh Keng Swee created a modern economy focused on industry, education and urban planning. Today, the port of Singapore continues to be amongst the top five busiest ports in the world. The World Bank ranks Singapore as the world's top logistics hub. Singapore is the fourth wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita and twentieth wealthiest in terms of GDP (nominal) per capita. Despite Singapore's relatively small physical size, the country has the world's ninth largest foreign reserves. The Singapore Armed Forces is also the most technologically advanced and well-equipped in its region.
Georgraphy Singapore consists of 63 islands, including mainland Singapore. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Johor-Singapore Causeway in the north, and the Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's many smaller islands. The highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill at 166 m (545 ft). Singapore has on-going land reclamation projects with earth obtained from its own hills, the seabed, and neighbouring countries. As a result, Singapore's land area grew from 581.5 km2 (224.5 sq mi) in the 1960s to 704 km2 (271.8 sq mi) today, and may grow by another 100 km2 (38.6 sq mi) by 2030. The projects sometimes involve some of the smaller islands being merged together through land reclamation in order to form larger, more functional islands, such as in the case of Jurong Island.
Climate Under the Köppen climate classification system, Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons, uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures range from 22 to 34 °C (71.6 to 93.2 °F). On average, the relative humidity is around 90% in the morning and 60% in the afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100%. The lowest and highest temperatures recorded in its maritime history are 19.4 °C (66.9 °F) and 35.8 °C (96.4 °F). May and June are the hottest months, while November and December make up the wetter monsoon season. From August to October, there is often haze, sometimes severe enough to prompt public health warnings, due to bush fires in neighbouring Indonesia. Singapore does not observe daylight saving time or a summer time zone change. The length of the day is nearly constant year round due to the country's position near the equator. About 23% of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature reserves. Urbanisation has eliminated many areas of former primary rainforest, with the only remaining area of primary rainforest being Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. A variety of parks are maintained, such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Tourism Singapore is a popular travel destination, making tourism one of its largest industries. About 7.8 million tourists visited in 2006. Total visitor arrivals were 10.2 million in 2007. To attract more tourists, the government decided to legalise gambling and to allow two casino resorts (euphemistically called Integrated Resorts) to be developed at Marina South and Sentosa in 2005. To compete with regional rivals like Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, the government has announced that the city area would be transformed into a more exciting place by lighting up the civic and commercial buildings. Food has also been promoted as an attraction for tourists, with the Singapore Food Festival held every July to celebrate Singapore's cuisine. Singapore is also promoting itself as a medical tourism hub: about 200,000 foreigners seek medical care in the country each year, and Singapore medical services aim to serve one million foreign patients annually by 2012 and generate USD 3 billion in revenue. The government states that this could create some 13,000 new jobs within the health industries.
Currency The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar, represented by the symbol S$ or the ISO abbreviation SGD. The central bank is the Monetary Authority of Singapore, responsible for issuing currency. Singapore established the Board of Commissioners of Currency in 1967 and issued its first coins and notes. The Singapore dollar was exchangeable at par with the Malaysian ringgit until 1973. Interchangeability with the Brunei dollar is still maintained. On 27 June 2007, to commemorate 40 years of currency agreement with Brunei, a commemorative S$20 note was launched; the back is identical to the Bruneian $20 note launched concurrently.
Languages The Singapore government recognises four official languages: English, Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), and Tamil. English is the first and most dominant language in Singapore. The forms of English spoken in Singapore ranges from Standard Singapore English to Singlish. (See Singapore English) Amongst the four official languages in Singapore, English has the most number of speakers. This is followed by Madarin Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Singapore is effectively a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-racial nation. The population of Singapore has the 6th highest percentage of foreigners globally. 42% of the population in Singapore are foreigners and foreigners make up 50% of the service sector. Most foreigners come from China, Malaysia, Philippines, North America, Middle East, Europe, Australia and India. Many of these foreigners bring with them their own languages as well. English is the first language of Singapore and has been heavily promoted as such since the country's independence. The English used is primarily based on British English, with some American English influences. The use of English became widespread in Singapore after it was implemented as a first language medium in the education system, and English is the most common language in Singaporean literature. In school, children are required to learn English and one of the three other official languages. By law, all signs and official publications are required to be primarily in English, although they are occasionally translated versions into the other official languages. Malay is the national language for symbolic and historical reasons. The Malay language is used in the national anthem "Majulah Singapura"and printing of coins. However, over 85% of Singaporeans do not speak Malay. Mandarin (Chinese) is also spoken widely in Singapore. Mandarin's use has spread largely as a result of government-sponsored public campaigns. Malay is generally spoken by Singapore's Malay community, while Tamil is spoken by about 60% of Singapore's Indian community or 5% of all Singaporeans. Indian languages such as Malayalam and Hindi are also spoken by a small group of Singaporean Indians in Singapore.
Culture Due to its diverse population and immigrant background, Singaporean culture has often been described as a mix of cultures - British, Malay, Chinese, Indian and Peranakan. Foreigners also make up 42% of the population in Singapore and they play an important role in influencing Singaporean culture.
Cuisine Eating, along with shopping, is said to be the country’s national pastime. Singaporean cuisine is an example of the country's diversity and cultural diffusion; with significant influences from British, Chinese, Indian, Malay, Tamil cuisine, and Indonesian cuisine. Everyday Singaporean food includes Hainanese chicken rice, Fish and chips, Chicken fried steak and Malay satay.
Sports & Recreation Favourite Singaporean sports include outdoor sports such as football, basketball, swimming and various indoor sports such as table tennis and badminton. Most Singaporeans live in public residential areas with amenities such as swimming pools, outdoor basketball courts and indoor sport complexes nearby. As might be expected on an island, water sports are popular, including sailing, kayaking and water skiing. Scuba diving is another recreation, particularly around the southern island of Pulau Hantu which is known for its rich coral reefs. Singaporean sportsmen have performed in regional as well as international competitions in sports such as table tennis, badminton, bowling, sailing, silat, swimming and water polo. Athletes such as Fandi Ahmad, Ang Peng Siong, Li Jiawei and Ronald Susilo have become household names in the country. The Singapore Slingers joined the Australian National Basketball League in 2006, which they left in 2008. They are one of the inaugural teams that began competition in the ASEAN Basketball League in October 2009. Beginning in 2008, Singapore started hosting a round of the Formula One World Championship. The race was staged at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in the Marina Bay area and became the first night race on the F1 circuit and the first street circuit in Asia. On 21 February 2008 the International Olympic Committee announced that Singapore won the bid to host the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. Singapore beat Moscow in the final by 53 votes to 44.
Transport The domestic transport infrastructure has a well-connected island-wide road transport system which includes a network of expressways. The public road system is served by the nation's bus service and a number of licensed taxi-operating companies. The public bus transport has been the subject of criticism by Singaporeans, the majority of whom are dependent on it for their daily commuting. Since 1987, the heavy rail passenger Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) metro system has been in operation. The MRT system has been further augmented by the Light Rail Transit (LRT) light rail system, and increases accessibility to housing estates. Established in 2001, the EZ-Link system allows contactless smartcards to serve as stored value tickets for use in the public transport systems in Singapore.
Singapore Tourism Board Singapore Tourism Board
Source: Wikepedia. The Free Enyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore; Singapore Tourism Board. http://www.stb.gov.sg/; http://www.yoursingapore.com/ |
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