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.

Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
1 22 N, 103 48 E
Southeast Asia
total: 692.7 sq km ; land: 682.7 sq km ; water: 10 sq km
slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
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)
NA
0.6 cu km (1975)
Total: 0.19 cu km/yr (45%/51%/4%) ; Per capita: 44 cu m/yr (1975)
NA
industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia
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
focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes
4,553,009 (July 2007 est.)
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.)
total: 37.8 years ; male: 37.4 years ; female: 38.2 years (2007 est.)
1.275% (2007 est.)
9.17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
4.4 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
7.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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.)
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.)
total population: 81.8 years ; male: 79.21 years ; female: 84.59 years (2007 est.)
1.07 children born/woman (2007 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% (2000 census)


conventional long form: Republic of Singapore ; conventional short form: Singapore ; local long form: Republic of Singapore ; local short form: Singapore
parliamentary republic
name: Singapore ; geographic coordinates: 1 17 N, 103 51 E ; time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
none

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
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 Shunmugam 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
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
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
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
NA
APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, EAS, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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
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
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





Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market economy. It 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 consumer electronics and information technology products. It was hard hit from 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. Fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, a surge in exports, and internal flexibility led to vigorous growth in 2004-07 with real GDP growth averaging 7% annually. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the global demand cycle for information technology products - it has attracted major investments in pharmaceuticals and medical technology production - and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub.
$222.7 billion (2007 est.)
$134.2 billion (2007 est.)
7.4% (2007 est.)
$48,900 (2007 est.)
agriculture: 0% ; industry: 33.7% ; services: 66.3% (2007 est.)
2.48 million (2007 est.)
manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, financial, business, and other services 39%, other 26% (2003)
2.6% (2007 est.)
NA%
lowest 10%: 1.9% ; highest 10%: 32.8% (1998)
42.5 (1998)
1.8% (2007 est.)
25.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
revenues: $22.34 billion ; expenditures: $21.88 billion (2007 est.)
95.3% of GDP (2007 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
6.8% (2007 est.)
35.92 billion kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
33.99 billion kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
9,836 bbl/day (2005 est.)
802,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
1.073 million bbl/day (2004)
1.83 million bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
6.339 billion cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
6.339 billion cu m ; note: from Indonesia and Malaysia (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
$41.39 billion (2007 est.)
$317.6 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels
Malaysia 13.1%, US 10.2%, Hong Kong 10.1%, China 9.7%, Indonesia 9.2%, Japan 5.5%, Thailand 4.2% (2006)
$273 billion (2007 est.)
Malaysia 13%, US 12.7%, China 11.4%, Japan 8.3%, Taiwan 6.4%, Indonesia 6.2%, South Korea 4.4% (2006)

$155.3 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
$25.53 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
$189.7 billion (2006 est.)
$NA
$208.3 billion (2005)
Singapore dollar (SGD)
SGD
Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.507 (2007), 1.5889 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003)
1 April - 31 March
$9.14 million (2004)
1.854 million (2006)
4.789 million (2006)
general assessment: excellent service ; domestic: excellent domestic facilities; launched 3G wireless service in February 2005; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 150 telephones per 100 persons ; international: country code - 65; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; satellite earth stations -4; supplemented by VSAT coverage (2003)
AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003)
2.6 million (2000)
1 (broadcasting on six channels); additional reception of numerous UHF and VHF signals originating in Malaysia and Indonesia (2006)
1.33 million (1997)
.sg
954,475 (2007)
9 (2000)
1.717 million (2006)

8 (2007)
total: 8 ; 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 (2007)


gas 139 km; refined products 8 km (2006)

total: 3,234 km ; paved: 3,234 km (includes 150 km of expressways) (2005)

total: 1,131 ships (1000 GRT or over) 33,237,005 GRT/52,487,127 DWT ; by type: bulk carrier 167, cargo 85, carrier 1, chemical tanker 156, container 231, liquefied gas 72, livestock carrier 2, petroleum tanker 355, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 3, specialized tanker 7, vehicle carrier 46 ; foreign-owned: 652 (Australia 6, Bangladesh 2, Belgium 8, China 19, Denmark 68, France 1, Germany 18, Greece 14, Hong Kong 37, India 9, Indonesia 56, Italy 4, Japan 108, South Korea 7, Malaysia 28, Norway 125, Philippines 4, Slovenia 1, Sweden 17, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 60, Thailand 20, UAE 8, UK 13, US 17) ; registered in other countries: 293 (Bahamas 9, Belize 3, Bermuda 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 2, Cayman Islands 10, Cyprus 1, Dominica 8, France 2, Honduras 10, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 26, Isle of Man 2, Kiribati 1, Liberia 42, Malaysia 22, Marshall Islands 12, Mongolia 12, Nigeria 1, Norway 1, Panama 83, Philippines 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 6, Thailand 2, Tuvalu 13, US 11, unknown 4) (2007)
Singapore

Singapore Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Republic of Singapore Air Force (includes Air Defense) (2006)
18 years of age for male compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; 2-year conscript service obligation, with a reserve obligation to age 40 for enlisted or age 50 for officers (2007)
males age 18-49: 1,215,568 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 982,368 (2005 est.)

4.9% (2005 est.)

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

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

