Singapore

Republic of Singapore Republik Singapura 新加坡共和国 சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு
Flag Coat of arms of Singapore Coat of arms
Motto: Majulah Singapura (Malay: "Onward, Singapore")
Anthem: Majulah Singapura
Capital and largest city	Singapore City1
Official languages	English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	Sellapan Ramanathan
• Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Independence
• Unilateral declaration (from the UK)	August 31 1963
• Officially from UK (as a state of Malaysia)	September 16 1963
• from Malaysia	August 9 1965
• Water (%)	1.444
Population
• December 2006 estimate	4,483,900 (117th)
• 2000 census	4,117,700
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
• Total	$123.4 billion (57th)
• Per capita	$28,368 (22nd)
HDI (2004)	0.916  (25th)
Currency	Singapore dollar (SGD)
Time zone	UTC+8 (SST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+8 (not observed)
Calling code	652
ISO 3166 code	SG
Internet TLD	.sg
1 Singapore is a city-state. 2 02 from Malaysia.

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore ([Republik Singapura] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help); Chinese: 新加坡共和国, Pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Gònghéguó; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு, [Ciŋkappūr Kudiyarasu] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), is an island city-state and the smallest country in Southeast Asia. Located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of the Indonesian Riau Islands, it lies 137 kilometers (85 miles) north of the Equator.

The site of several ancient port cities and a possession of several empires in its history, Singapore was a fishing village sparsely populated by indigeneous Malays and Orang Lauts when it was colonized by the United Kingdom in 1819. It was occupied by the Japanese Empire during World War II, but reverted to British rule in 1945 and was later part of the merger which established Malaysia in 1963. When Singapore acquired independence in 1965, having few natural resources, it was sociopolitically volatile and economically undeveloped. Foreign investments and rapid government-led island-wide industrialization has since created an economy relying heavily on electronics and manufacturing exports and entrepôt trade centering around its strategic port position.

According to the quality-of-life index by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Singapore has the highest standard of living in Asia, and is ranked 11th in the world. In the United Nations Human Development Index, Singapore holds the 25th place, behind Japan, Hong Kong, and Israel in Asia. In terms of GDP per capita, Singapore is the 22nd wealthiest country. The geographically small nation has a foreign reserve of S$197b (US$119b).

The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the city-state's political system as a representative democracy while the country has official United Nations' recognition of a Parlimentary Republic. Since its independence, the country has been governed by the People's Action Party, which has won every election to date.

History

Main article: History of Singapore

The name Singapore was derived from Malay words [singa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (lion) and [pura] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (city), which in turn derived from the Sanskrit सिंह siṃha and पुर pura. Folklore attributes this name to a 14th-century Sumatran prince Sang Nila Utama, who, on alighting the island after a thunderstorm, renamed it Lion City after spotting an auspicious beast identified as a lion.

The first records of Singapore's inhabitance are from 3rd-century AD Chinese texts. The island was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire and originally bore the Javanese name Temasek ('sea town'). Temasek (Tumasek) rapidly become a significant trading city, but declined in the late 14th century. There are few remnants of old Temasek in Singapore, but archaeologists in Singapore have uncovered evidence of the civilization and other settlements. Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Singapore was part of the Sultanate of Johore. During the Malay-Portugal wars in 1613, she was set ablaze by Portuguese troops. The Portuguese subsequently held control in the 16th century, the Dutch in the 17th, but most of this time the island was occupied by mainly fishermen and occasional pirates.

Statue of Thomas Stamford Raffles by Thomas Woolner, erected at the spot where he first landed at Singapore. He is recognized as the founder of modern Singapore.

In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed on the island. Sighting its enormous potential, Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company to develop Singapore as a trading post and settlement, marking the start of her modern era. Raffles's deputy, William Farquhar, oversaw a period of growth and ethnic migration. The British India office governed the island in 1858, but Singapore was made a British crown colony - answerable directly to the Crown - in 1867. By 1869, the island boasted a sizeable community of 100,000.

During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The ill-prepared British were defeated in six days, and surrendered the island, the supposedly impregnable Bastion of the Empire, to General Yamashita Tomoyuki on 15 February 1942. The Japanese renamed Singapore Shōnan (昭南), from Japanese Shō (Shōwa) and nan (South), and occupied it until the British repossessed the island on 12 September 1945, a month after the Japanese surrender.

Singapore became a self-governing state in 1959 with Yusof bin Ishak its first Yang di-Pertuan Negara and Lee Kuan Yew its first Prime Minister. Following the 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore, Singapore joined Malaya alongside Sabah and Sarawak to form the Federation state of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, but was expelled two years later after heated ideological conflict between the state PAP government and the federal Kuala Lumpur government. She gained official sovereignty on 9 August 1965. Yusof bin Ishak was sworn in as the first President of Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew remained as prime minister.

The Downtown Core of Singapore at dusk

The fledgling nation had to be self-sufficient, and faced problems like mass unemployment, housing shortages and lack of land and natural resources. During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, his administration curbed unemployment, raised the standard of living and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. The country's economic infrastructure was developed, the threat of racial tension was curbed and an independent national defence system, centered around compulsory male military service, was created.

In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister. During his tenure, the country tackled the impacts of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak, as well as terrorist threats posed by the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) post-September 11. Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister in 2004.

Politics and government

Main article: Politics of Singapore

File:Singapore Parliament House.jpg

Parliament House.

Singapore is a republic with a Westminster system of a unicameral parliamentary government representing different constituencies of Singapore. The bulk of the executive powers rests in the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister of Singapore. The office of the President of Singapore, historically a ceremonial one, was granted some veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and appointment of judiciary positions. The legislative branch of government is the Parliament.

Parliamentary elections in Singapore are plurality-based for group representation constituencies since the Parliamentary Elections Act was modified in 1991.

Singaporean politics have been dominated by the People's Action Party (PAP) since self-government in 1959. Foreign political analysts and several opposition parties like the Workers' Party of Singapore, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) have argued Singapore is essentially a one-party state. Many analysts consider Singapore more an illiberal democracy or procedural democracy than a true democracy. The Economist Intelligence Unit lists Singapore as a country with a "hybrid" system with democratic and authoritarian elements. Freedom House ranks the country as "partly free". Though general elections are free from irregularities and vote rigging, the PAP has been criticised for manipulating the political system through its use of censorship, gerrymandering and civil libel suits against opposition politicians. Political opponents like Francis Seow, J.B. Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan perceive the Singaporean courts as favourable towards the PAP government due to a lack of separation of powers.

Singapore has what its government considers to be a highly successful and transparent market economy. The PAP's policies contain some aspects of socialism. The Housing Development Board oversees a large-scale public housing programme and education in Singapore is a rigorous compulsory public education system. Government-linked companies are dominant in various sectors of the local economy, such as the areas of media, utilities, and public transport. Singapore has consistently been rated as the least-corrupt country in Asia and amongst the top ten cleanest from corruption in the world by Transparency International.

Although Singapore's laws are inherited from British and British Indian laws, including many elements of English common law, the PAP has also consistently rejected liberal democratic values, which it typifies as Western and states that there should not be a 'one-size-fits-all' solution to a democracy. Laws restricting the freedom of speech are justified by claims that they are intended to prohibit speech that may breed ill will or cause disharmony within Singapore's multiracial, multi-religious society. For example, in September 2005, three bloggers were convicted of sedition for posting racist remarks targeting minorities. Some offences can lead to heavy fines or caning and there are laws which allow capital punishment in Singapore for first-degree murder and drug trafficking. Amnesty International has criticised Singapore for having "possibly the highest execution rate in the world" per capita. The Singapore government argued that there is no international consensus on the appropriateness of the death penalty and that Singapore has the sovereign right to determine its own judicial system and impose capital punishment for the most serious crimes. Despite restrictions on public gatherings in Singapore, a small group of activists organised events in 2005 and 2006 protesting the country's use of the death penalty.

More recently the PAP government has relaxed some of its socially conservative policies and created a "Feedback Unit" to encourage citizens to share their views on policies and public services.

See also: Law of Singapore

Geography

Main article: Geography and climate of Singapore

Template:Singapore Urban Planning Areas Labelled Map Singapore is divided into 55 urban planning areas, grouped into 5 regions.

Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island itself. There are two connections to Johor — the man-made Johor-Singapore Causeway in the north and 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 point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill 166 metres, 538 ft).

The urban area used to be only concentrated on the southern part of Singapore around the mouth of the Singapore River and what is now the Downtown Core, while the rest of the land was tropical rainforest or used for agriculture. Since the 1960s, the government has constructed new towns in outlying areas, resulting in an entirely built-up and urban landscape, although the Central Area, the central business district, remains the densest. The Urban Redevelopment Authority is a government agency responsible for the urban planning of Singapore that concentrates on efficient land use and distribution, as well as transport flow. It has released a Development Guide Plan which details specific land use for each the 55 urban planning areas of Singapore.

Singapore has reclaimed land with earth obtained from its own hills, the seabed and neighbouring countries. As a result, Singapore's land area grew from 581.5 square kilometres (224.5 sq mi) in the 1960s to 697.2 square kilometres (269.1 sq mi) today, and may grow by another 100 square kilometres (38.6 sq mi) by 2030. About 23% of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature reserves. Many of the smaller islands have been expanded and joined together through land reclamation in order to form larger, more functional islands, such as in the case of Jurong Island.

File:Singapore botanic garden pond.jpg

Singapore Botanic Gardens, a 67.3-hectare (166 acre) botanical garden in Singapore that includes the National Orchid Garden which has a collection of more than 3,000 species of orchids.

Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinct seasons, under the Köppen climate classification. Its climate is characterised by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall. Temperatures range from 22°C to 34 °C (72°–93°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 18.4 °C (65.1 °F) and 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) respectively. Year 2006 was one of the coolest years for Singapore, as temperatures had dropped to as low as 21°C. The highest wind speed recorded is 120 km/h on July 27, 2001 .

Urbanisation has eliminated many areas of primary rainforest that once existed, with the only remaining area of primary rainforest being Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. A variety of parks, however, are maintained with human intervention, such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Without natural freshwater rivers and lakes, the primary domestic source of water supply in Singapore is rainfall, collected in reservoirs or catchment areas. Rainfall supplies approximately 50% of Singapore's water; the remainder is imported from Malaysia or obtained from recycled water facilities, a product called NEWater and desalination plants. More NEWater and desalination plants are being built or proposed to reduce reliance on foreign supply.

Economy

File:SGcurrency.jpg

Singapore banknotes and coins

Singapore's Central Business District (CBD)

Singapore's tourist icon, the Merlion.

Orchard Road, as decorated for Christmas, during 2005.

Panoramic view of the Singapore River. It now houses numerous bars, pubs, and seafood restaurants.

Main article: Economy of Singapore

Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy, which historically revolves around entrepot trade. The economy depends heavily on exports refining imported goods in a form of extended entrepot trade, especially in manufacturing. Manufacturing constitutes 28% of her GDP in 2005. The manufacturing industry is well-diversified into electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences manufacturing.

It ranks 25th on the Human Development Index which measures standards of living, and second in the Index of Economic Freedom.

Singapore is the world's fourth largest foreign exchangetrading centre after London, New York City and Tokyo.

Singapore has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in the world.

The city-state also employs thousands of foreign workers from around the world. It requires talent from outside to fill the various jobs the economy is generating, most of which are in the IT and financial sectors. The variety of workers predominantly hired are local Singaporeans, Indians, Malaysians and Filipinos. The government is aggressively pushing for the permanent assimilation of these foreign workers by offering easier processing time for permanent residency or citizenship.

Along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, Singapore was one of the four East Asian Tigers'.

In 2001, a global recession and slump in the technology sector caused the GDP to contract by 2.2%. The Economic Review Committee (ERC), set up in December 2001, recommended several policy changes with a view to revitalising the economy. Singapore has since recovered from the recession, largely due to improvements in the world economy; the Singaporean economy itself grew by 8.3% in 2004 and 6.4% in 2005. In the long term, the government hopes to establish a new growth path which will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle, as compared to the current export-led model. However, the government is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. The per capita GDP in 2005 was US$26,833 and the unemployment rate was 2.7% in 2006, with 173,000 new jobs being created Year 2006, a record high. The economy grew by 7.7% in 2006, higher than originally expected. Initially, Lee Hsien Loong, who is the current Finance and Prime Minister, had only expected growth to be between 3-5% for 2006. Economic growth is positive this year, as the Prime Minister expects growth to be between 4-6%.

On 5 October 2006, the government announced that Singapore has recorded its highest employment rate in 15 years with improvements, particularly, in the hiring of older workers. The Manpower Ministry's Research and Statistics Department said that in June this year, 76 percent of its resident population, aged 25 to 64, were employed. This was up from 73 percent in 2005 and 72 percent in 2004.

Singapore introduced a Goods and Services Tax (GST) with an initial rate of 3% on 1 April 1994. This has substantially increased government revenue by $1.6 billion, stabilising the government's finances. The government has used revenue from the GST to reorient the economy around services and value added-goods to reduce dependence on electronics manufacturing. The taxable GST was increased to 4% in 2003 and to 5% in 2004. The GST could be increased to 7% in 2007.

Singapore is a popular travel destination, making tourism one of its largest industries. In fact, an international poll, ranked the state Number 2 in the world (ranking behind Italy) for dining and nightlife in Year 2006.

8.9 million and 9.7 million tourists visited Singapore in 2005 and 2006 respectively, resulting in an increase of 9% tourist arrivals last year compared to the year before. Singapore received its nine millionth visitor in 2006 on 6 December 2006, a new record for Singapore's tourism industry. By 2015, Singapore hopes to achieve about 17 million visitor arrivals and triple its tourism recipts to $30 billion. In July 2006, a record high of a total of 913,000 visitors arrived in Singapore, mostly due to the Great Singapore Sale . Singapore was also the first country in the world to receive its one millionth visitor from China itself. Tourism recipts for Year 2006 amounted to a total of $12.4 billion, as compared to $10.8 billion in Year 2005. Average occupancy, room rates, total room revenue in hotels and visitor days all had substantial growth last year as compared to Year 2005.

The Orchard Road district, which is dominated by multi-storey shopping centres and hotels, is the centre of tourism in Singapore. Other popular tourist attractions include the Singapore Zoo and its Night Safari along with the tourist island of Sentosa. To attract more tourists, the government decided in 2005 to legalise gambling and to allow two Integrated Resorts to be developed at Marina South and Sentosa. Other than the Integrated Resort, many other new developments are coming up that includes the Singapore Flyer and Gardens by the Bay.

5 new hotel sites have been awarded last year, estimating 2,747 new rooms being created for the future. This year, the government is expected to open thirteen sites for bidding of hotels again, adding an estimated 5,250 rooms. The total future hotel rooms would add up to an estimated 7,997.

Cuisine has been heavily promoted as an attraction for tourists, and is usually promoted by various initiatives undertaken by the Singapore Tourism Board or the associations it deals with as one of Singapore's best attractions alongside shopping. The government organises the Singapore Food Festival in July annually to celebrate Singapore's cuisine. The multiculturalism of local food, the ready availability of international cuisine, and their wide range in prices to fit all budgets at all times of the day and year helps create a "food paradise" to rival other contenders claiming the same moniker.

See also: Tourism in Singapore

Military

The Gurkha Contingent of the Singapore Police Force, with its members recruited from Nepal, is a counter-terrorism unit. Here, the officers join other members of the local constabulary in the annual Police Day Parade.

Main articles: Military of Singapore and Total Defence

The military of Singapore serves primarily as a deterrent to potential invaders of the island. Singapore has mutual defence pacts with several countries, most notably the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Singapore subscribes to a philosophy of Total Defence, in which five aspects of a holistic national defence are identified. Non-military aspects of total defence include civil defence, which is carried out by the Singapore Civil Defence Force; 'economic defence', which stresses the need for a robust economy in order to maintain a viable society; 'psychological defence', which calls for a patriotic citizenry willing to do all in the name of its country; and 'social defence', in which the need for a population at harmony with itself and strongly identified with each other is emphasised.

The military of Singapore includes the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy, and the Republic of Singapore Air Force, collectively known as the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). Various agencies of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and some private companies also play a supporting role. The military of Singapore is one of the most modern in Asia, with its advanced equipment and high level of training reflecting the continued emphasis of the government on military defence — military expenditures dominate the annual government budget.

The recent rise in unconventional warfare and terrorism has cast increasing emphasis upon the non-military aspects of Total Defence. The Gurkha Contingent, which is part of the Singapore Police Force, is also a counter-terrorist force. Singapore's defence resources have been used in international humanitarian aid missions, including United Nations peacekeeping assignments in Kosovo, Kuwait and East Timor, and participating in the multinational force in Iraq. One notable incident of terrorism in Singapore prior to its independence was the bombing of MacDonald House during the Confrontation that took place between Malaysia and Indonesia in the early 1960s. More recently, the Shell Oil refinery on Pulau Bukom was attacked by members of the Japanese Red Army and the PFLP in the Laju Incident of 1974; and in 1991, the hijacking of Singapore Airlines Flight 117 ended in the storming of the aircraft and the subsequent deaths of all four hijackers. A current concern is Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant Islamic group operating in South East Asia known to be responsible for several bombings around the region, as well as planning in 2001 an ultimately foiled attack on American interests in Singapore.

Demographics

Built in 1843, the Sri Mariamman Temple is the largest Hindu temple in Singapore. It is also one of the many religious buildings marked as national monuments for their historical value.

Main articles: Demographics of Singapore and Religion in Singapore

Singapore is the second most densely populated independent country in the world, excluding Macau and Hong Kong which are parts of the PRC. Eighty-three percent of Singaporeans live in public housing provided by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) The largest group in the population of 4.48 million (as of June 2006) are the Singaporean Chinese who account for 76.8% of Singaporeans, making it one of the largest Chinese cities outside of China. Nearby Malaysia is also home to many ethnic Chinese. Singapore is also diverse, with the Singaporean Malays, who are the indigenous native group of the country, constituting 13.9%, though this number includes many Malay ethnic groups from other parts of the Malay archipelago including the Javanese, Bugis, Baweans and Minangkabau. Indian Singaporeans are the third largest ethnic group at 7.9%, consisting of several groups — Indian Tamils and Sri Lankan Tamils, who form the largest Indian group, and others such as Malayalees, Punjabis and Bengalis. The rest are made up of smaller groups such as Arab Singaporeans, Jews, Thais, Japanese, European and the Eurasian Singaporean community.

Singapore is also a multi-religious country, due mainly to its location on one of the world's major transportation routes. More than 40% of Singaporeans practice Buddhism. About 15% practice Christianity (mostly Chinese and Indians), and 15% profess no religion. Muslims (mostly Malays) account for 14%. A smaller minority practices Taoism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Baha'i Faith, and others.

The government of Singapore has been careful to maintain ethnic harmony after racial riots erupted in the 1960s. Racial harmony has been emphasized in all aspects of society, including the Singaporean education system, military and housing. So far the policy has been largely successful, and there have been few signs of ethnic tension since the early 1970s. Current issues include the ban on wearing the Islamic headscarf in public schools. The national language of Singapore is Malay for historical reasons, and it is used in the national anthem, "Majulah Singapura". The official languages are English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. English has been promoted as the country's language of administration since independence, and it is spoken by the majority of the population. Most public signs and official publications are in English although there are also translated versions in the other official languages. The government has introduced a Speak Mandarin Campaign, 'Hua Yu Cool', to promote Mandarin as a common language among the Chinese.

After two decades of a successful family planning policy, Singapore is now facing the threat of an aging population with declining birth rates. The government is encouraging Singaporeans to have more children through the provision of financial incentives for the first to fourth child of each family.

Architecture

Skyline of the Central Business District

Main article: Architecture of Singapore

The architecture of Singapore is extremely varied. Due to the lack of available space, few historical buildings remain in the urban areas of Singapore. However, Singapore has become a centre for modern architecture as older buildings are cleared away to make space for newer, larger buildings. Historically, the demand for high-end buildings has been in and around the Central Business District (CBD). After decades of development, the CBD has become an area with many tall office buildings. These buildings comprise the skyline along the coast of Marina Bay and Raffles Place, a famous tourist attraction in Singapore. Due to the air restrictions in Singapore, no building in Singapore is to be taller than 280 metres. The three tallest buildings in Singapore, namely Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza One and OUB Centre, are all 280 metres in height.

A few signs of Singapore's colonial past remain in the form of "Black and White Houses". These large houses are situated further away from the CBD and were built in the early to mid 19th century. These homes were built to house the British generals and governors when Britain occupied the country. Later, they became home to many Japanese generals after the fall of Singapore during World War II.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Singapore

Enjoying Singaporean cuisine is a national pastime. Hawker centres and kopi tiams are well-distributed throughout the country.

The majority of Singaporeans live in planned estates of high-rise, high-density HDB flats.

Singapore is a small and relatively modern mixture of an indigenous Malay population with a third generation Chinese majority, as well as Indian and Arab immigrants with some intermarriages. There also exist Eurasian and Peranakan (known also as 'Straits Chinese') communities. Singapore has also achieved a significant degree of cultural diffusion with its unique combination of these ethnic groups, and this has given Singapore a rich mixture of diversity for its young age. One of the prime examples is in Singaporean cuisine, often a cultural attraction for tourists.

The English used is primarily British English, with some American English influences. The local colloquial dialect of English is Singlish, which has many creole-like characteristics, having incorporated vocabulary and grammar from various Chinese dialects, Malay, and Indian languages. Singlish is spoken commonly on the streets, but the government frowns upon its use in official contexts. 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.

Singapore has several ethnic neighbourhoods, including Little India and Chinatown. These were formed under the Raffles Plan to originally segregate the immigrants, but now have a diverse patronage whose main intentions are to either eat or buy something specific to that culture. Many places of worship were also constructed during the colonial era, a practice encouraged by the British to promote religious tolerance. Sri Mariamman Temple, the Masjid Jamae Mosque and the Church of Gregory the Illuminator are among those that were built during the colonial period. Work is now underway to preserve these religious sites as National Monuments of Singapore. The policy for the primarily commercial ethnic neighbourhoods stands in contrast to the housing policies of the Housing and Development Board (HDB). HDB policies attempt to promote a mix of all races within each housing district in order to foster social cohesion and national loyalty.

Since the 1990s, the government has been striving to promote Singapore as a centre for arts and culture, including theatre and music, and to transform the country into a cosmopolitan and diverse community at the 'gateway between the East and West'. The highlight of these efforts was the construction of Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, a centre for performing arts that opened on October 12, 2002.

See also: Sport in Singapore and Cuisine of Singapore

Education

Main article: Education in Singapore

Students having assembly in the hall of a Singapore secondary school.

Primary education is compulsory in Singapore and as such the literacy rate is 95%. The standard for the school curriculum is set by the Ministry of Education with a mix of private schools and public schools. There is no strict public-private dichotomy: the degree of autonomy in regard to the curriculum and student admission, government funding received, and tuition burden upon the students is determined by a more specific classification system that includes classifications such as "government-run", "government-aided", "autonomous", "independent", and "privately-funded". Some schools have more than one classification. In addition, there are international schools catered to expatriate students, though they have some local students.

After primary education, students take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Their performance in the examination is the main criteria in determining whether they enter their desired secondary schools.

There have also been complaints about excessive educational streaming at a young age; a popular local film, I Not Stupid, highlights the competitiveness of the system and social stigma that students struggling with studies have to face. After secondary education, a further set of examinations are taken which determine which kind of tertiary education they pursue, such as junior college, a precursor for entry into public universities such as National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University. Other post-secondary institutions include polytechnics, where students will graduate with a diploma and may choose to move into the workforce or pursue higher education in public universities such as those mentioned above. The polytechnics include Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic. Other institutes include a teaching college to train teachers, various management institutes, and vocational education institutes such as the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

Singapore students took first place in the 1995, 1999 and 2003 TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. They used Singapore Math Primary Mathematics series. The national textbooks have been adapted into a series which has been successfully marketed in North America as a rival to Saxon math and an alternative to controversial standards-based mathematics curricula which many parents complained moved too far away from the sort of traditional basic skills instruction exemplified by Singapore's national curriculum.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Singapore

File:NS logo.jpg

Logo of the Public Transport System

Singapore's Changi International Airport is one of the largest aviation facilities in Asia, serving 179 cities in 57 countries.

Singapore is a major Asian transportation hub, strategically lying on sea and air trade routes. Its history has been closely tied to the growth of its transportation industry since the establishment of its port. The transportation industry comprises over 10% of Singaporean GDP despite an increasingly diversified economy. The Port of Singapore, managed by port operators PSA International and Jurong Port, was the world's busiest port in 2005 in terms of shipping tonnage handled with 1.15 billion gross tons handled, and in terms of containerised traffic, with 23.2 million Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled. It was also the world's second busiest in terms of cargo tonnage, coming behind Shanghai with 423 million tons handled. In addition, Singapore is the world's busiest hub for transhipment traffic and the world's biggest ship refuelling hub.

Singapore is an aviation hub, acting as a stopover point for the 'Kangaroo route' between Australasia and Europe. Singapore Changi Airport has a network of 81 airlines connecting Singapore to 179 cities in 57 countries (2005). It is one of the top five airports in Asia in terms of passengers handled, with 30 million passengers passing through in 2004. It has been consistently rated as one of the best international airports by numerous international travel magazines. It was also rated as the world's best airport in 2006 by Skytrax, defeating its long time rival, Hong Kong International Airport. The airport currently has two passenger terminals, Terminal 1 (T1) and Terminal 2 (T2). The Budget Terminal, a low-cost terminal, started operation in March 2006. A third passenger terminal now under construction will increase the airport's total annual capacity to 66.7 million passengers by 2008. The national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA), which operates from T2, is internationally renowned for its service and will be the first airline in the world to fly the new Airbus A380 commercially.

A C751B train at Eunos MRT Station on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, one of three heavy rail passenger transport lines in Singapore.

The backbone of domestic transport infrastructure is the road transport system which includes a network of expressways that form the arteries between distinct towns and regional centres as laid out in Singapore's urban planning. Following a government study assisted by the United Nations Development Programme which foresaw problems with private transport such as traffic congestion and air pollution as the city grew, the Land Transport Authority began a series of measures to develop the use of the public transport system such as improving the nation's bus service and liberalising the hired vehicle market to allow for more taxi operators. Since 1987, the heavy rail passenger Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) metro system has been in operation. MRT was later augmented by and linked to the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) light rail system, which provides service to several expanses of housing estates. The EZ-Link system allows contactless smartcards to serve as stored value tickets for use in the public transport systems. More than 2.8 million people use the bus network daily, while more than 1.3 million people use either the LRT or MRT as part of their daily routine. Approximately 900,000 people use the taxi services daily. Private vehicle use in the Central Area is discouraged by tolls implemented through an Electronic Road Pricing system which operates during hours of heavy road traffic.

International rankings

Economic

• Doing Business project 2006 @ International Finance Corporation, World Bank, ranked 1 out of 175 economies
• IMD International: [World Competitiveness Yearbook] [1], ranked 3 out of 60 economies in 2006 (countries and regions)
• World Economic Forum: Global Competitiveness Report2006-2007 - Growth Competitiveness Index Ranking, ranked 5 out of 124 economies
• A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Magazine: Globalization Index 2005, ranked 1 out of 62 countries
• Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal: 2007 Index of Economic Freedom, ranked 2 out of 155 countries [2]
• The Economist: The World in 2005 - Worldwide quality-of-life index, 2005, ranked 11 out of 111 countries
• Economist Intelligence Unit: 2006 e-readiness rankings, ranked 13 out of 68 economies
• Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2006, ranked 12 out of 30 leading exporting economies

Educational

• International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, ranked 1 out of 46 economies in all four criteria
• Educational Testing Service: 2003-2004 TOEFL Test Year Data Summary, ranked 4 out of 227 economies

Political

• Transparency International: Corruption Perceptions Index 2006, ranked 5 out of 163 countries and economies
• Freedom in the World 2006 ranked Singapore 5 out of 7 for political freedom, and 4 out of 7 for civil liberties (where 1 is the most free), for an overall ranking of "partly free".
• The Economist: The World in 2007 - Index of Democracy, ranked 84 out of 167 countries/territories

Social

• United Nations Development Programme: Human Development Index 2004, ranked 25 out of 177 countries
• Reporters Without Borders: Press Freedom Index 2006, ranked 146 out of 168 countries
• Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers 2004, ranked 16 out of 119 countries (tied with Argentina, Republic of Korea, and Uruguay)

Transportation

• Skytrax: Worlds Best Airports 2006, Singapore Changi Airport ranked 1 out of 155 airports
• AAPA: World's busiest container ports, ranked 1

References

• Diane K. Mauzy & R. S. Milne (2002). Singapore Politics: Under the People's Action Party. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-24653-9.
• "Census 2000". Singapore Department of Statistics. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Key Facts & Figures". Ministry of Transport, Singapore. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Nation's History". Singapore Infomap. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• This article incorporates public domain text from the websites of Singapore Department of Statistics, United States Department of State, the United States Library of Congress & CIA World Factbook (2004).

External links

General Information

• Singapore Infomap
• Singapore Government Directory Interactive
• Singapore Government Online Portal
• Gateway To All Government Services
• Amnesty International's 2005 report on Singapore
• CIA World Factbook Entry for Singapore
• Singapore Department of Statistics Annual Data

Travel

• Template:Wikitravel
• Singapore Tourist Guide

Maps

• WikiSatellite view of Singapore at WikiMapia

Photography

• Tokyo Ahead
• ChooseAlex

ASEAN

01°22′N 103°48′E