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Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues

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This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006

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| Introduction | Singapore | Top of Page

Background:

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.

| Geography | Singapore | Top of Page

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 sq km
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, 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

| People | Singapore | Top of Page

Population: | 4,492,150 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: | 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.)
Median age: | total: 37.3 years male: 36.9 years female: 37.6 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | 1.42% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 9.34 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 4.28 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | 9.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | 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.)
Infant mortality rate: | 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.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 81.71 years male: 79.13 years female: 84.49 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.06 children born/woman (2006 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% (2002)

| Government | Singapore | Top of Page

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Singapore conventional short form: Singapore
Government type: | parliamentary republic
Capital: | Singapore
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 Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999)
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: Cabinet appointed by president, responsible to Parliament
elections: president elected by popular vote for six-year term; last appointed 17 August 2005 - see note (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; the losing opposition candidate who came closest to winning a seat may be appointed as a "nonconstituency" member
elections: last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held not later than 25 June 2007) thereby extending terms by several months
election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 75.3% (in contested constituencies), other 24.7%; seats by party - PAP 82, WP 1, SPP 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:

governing party: People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]; opposition parties: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [LING How Dong]; National Solidarity Party or NSP [YIP Yew Weng] (SDA group); Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong] (includes SPP, PKMS, NSP, SJP); Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore Justice Party or SJP [Desmond LIM] (SDA group); Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS [Malik ISMAIL] (SDA group); Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong] (SDA group); Workers' Party or WP [Sylvia Lim Swee LIAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
International organization participation: | APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, EAS, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador CHAN Heng Chee chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100 FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876 consulate(s) general: San Francisco consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia L. HERBOLD embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508 mailing address: FPO AP 96507-0001 telephone: [65] 6476-9100 FAX: [65] 6476-9340
Flag description: | 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 | Singapore | Top of Page

Economy - overview:

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.

GDP (purchasing power parity): | $132.3 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $111.5 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 5.7% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $29,900 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 0% negligible industry: 33.6% services: 66.4% (2005 est.)
Labor force: | 2.28 million (September 2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, financial, business, and other services 39%, other 26% (2003)
Unemployment rate: | 3.3% (2005 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% (2005)
Investment (gross fixed): | 23% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $18.67 billion expenditures: $18.21 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.1 billion (2005 est.)
Public debt: | 102% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: | rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables; poultry, eggs; fish, ornamental fish
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: | 8.6% (2005 est.)
Electricity - production: | 36.8 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - consumption: | 33.2 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2004)
Oil - production: | 8,290 bbl/day (2003 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: | 5.32 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 2.5 billion cu m note: from Indonesia and Malaysia (2001 est.)
Current account balance: | $25.24 billion (2005 est.)
Exports: | $204.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: | machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels
Exports - partners: | 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)
Imports: | $188.3 billion (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: | Malaysia 15.3%, US 12.7%, Japan 11.7%, China 9.9%, Taiwan 5.7%, South Korea 4.3%, Thailand 4.1% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $123.5 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external: | $24.67 billion (2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $NA
Currency (code): | Singapore dollar (SGD)
Exchange rates: | Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003), 1.7906 (2002), 1.7917 (2001)
Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March

| Communications | Singapore | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 1,847,800 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 4,256,800 (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; 4 satellite earth stations, supplemented by VSAT coverage
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003)
Television broadcast stations: | 3 (2005)
Internet country code: | .sg
Internet hosts: | 679,369 (2005)
Internet users: | 2,421,800 (2005)

| Transportation | Singapore | Top of Page

Airports: | 9 (2005)
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 (2005)
Pipelines: | gas 139 km (2004)
Roadways: | total: 3,165 km paved: 3,130 km (including 150 km of expressways) (2003)

Merchant marine:

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)

Ports and terminals: | Singapore

| Military | Singapore | Top of Page

Military branches: | Singapore Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense (2005)
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 - dollar figure: | $4.47 billion (FY01 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 4.9% (FY01)

| Transnational Issues | Singapore | Top of Page

Disputes - international:

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

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

This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006