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Background:
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 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 the world's busiest in terms of tonnage
handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading
nations of Western Europe. |
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Location:
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Southeastern
Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia |
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Geographic coordinates:
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1 22 N, 103 48 E |
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Map references:
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Southeast
Asia |
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Area:
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total:
692.7 sq km
water: 10 sq km
land: 682.7 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more
than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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193 km |
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Climate:
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tropical; hot,
humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern
monsoon from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from
June to September; inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and
early evening thunderstorms |
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Terrain:
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lowland; gently
undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and
nature preserve |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Singapore Strait 0 m
highest point: Bukit Timah 166 m |
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Natural resources:
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fish, deepwater
ports |
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Land use:
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arable land:
1.64%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 98.36% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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NA sq km |
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Natural hazards:
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NA |
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Environment - current issues:
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industrial
pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land
availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal
smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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focal point for
Southeast Asian sea routes |
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Population:
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4,353,893
(July 2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14
years: 16.5% (male 370,660; female 345,713)
15-64 years: 75.8% (male 1,611,502; female 1,687,048)
65 years and over: 7.8% (male 149,452; female 189,518)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
36.2 years
male: 35.9 years
female: 36.6 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.71%
(2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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9.63
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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4.05
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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11.53
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at
birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
2.28 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 2.49 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 81.53 years
male: 78.96 years
female: 84.29 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.2%
(2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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3,400
(2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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140
(2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Singaporean(s)
adjective: Singapore |
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Ethnic groups:
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Chinese
76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% |
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Religions:
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Buddhist
(Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist,
Confucianist |
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Languages:
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Chinese
(official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official),
English (official) |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.2%
male: 96.7%
female: 89.7% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Republic of Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore |
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Government type:
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parliamentary
republic |
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Capital:
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Singapore |
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Administrative divisions:
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none |
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Independence:
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9 August 1965
(from Malaysian Federation) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
9 August (1965) |
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Constitution:
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3 June 1959,
amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore
Constitution) |
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Legal system:
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based on English
common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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21 years of age;
universal and compulsory |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1
September 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong (since
28 November 1990) and Deputy Prime Ministers Brig. Gen. (Ret.)
LEE Hsien Loong (since 28 November 1990) and Tony TAN Keng Yam
(since 1 August 1995)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president,
responsible to Parliament
elections: president elected by popular vote for a
six-year term; election last held 28 August 1999 (next to be
held by August 2005); following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority
coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the
president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN elected
president unopposed |
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Legislative branch:
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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)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 75.3%
(in contested constituencies), other 24.7%; seats by party -
PAP 82, WP 1, SDA 1 |
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Judicial branch:
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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 |
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Political parties and leaders:
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governing party:
People's Action Party or PAP [GOH Chok Tong]; opposition
parties: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [LING How Dong];
National Solidarity Party or NSP [vacant] (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 [Muhammad ALI Aman] (SDA group); Singapore People's Party
or SPP [CHIAM See Tong] (SDA group); Workers' Party or WP [LOW
Thia Kiang] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador CHAN Heng Chee
consulate(s): New York
consulate(s) general: San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876
telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100
chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC
20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Franklin L. LAVIN
embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508
mailing address: FPO AP 96507-0001
telephone: [65] 6476-9100
FAX: [65] 6476-9340 |
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Economy - overview:
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Singapore, a
highly developed and successful free market economy, enjoys a
remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable
prices, and a high per capita GDP. The economy depends heavily
on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It
was hard hit in 2001-2003 by the global recession and the
slump in the technology sector. The government hopes to
establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to
the external business cycle but is unlikely to abandon efforts
to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and
high-tech hub. Fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, and global
economic recovery should lead to much improved growth in 2004. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $109.1 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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0.8% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $23,700 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
negligible
industry: 30%
services: 70% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% (2002 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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0.7% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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2 million (June
2003) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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financial,
business, and other services 49%, manufacturing 18%,
construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, other
16% (2003) |
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Unemployment rate:
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5% (2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$17.4 billion
expenditures: $17.6 billion, including capital
expenditures of $5.6 billion (FY03/04 est.) |
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Industries:
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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 |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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7.5% (2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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30.48 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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28.35 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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700,000 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - production:
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0 cu m (2001
est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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2.5 billion cu m
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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rubber, copra,
fruit, orchids, vegetables, poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental
fish |
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Exports:
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$142.4 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery and
equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals,
mineral fuels |
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Exports - partners:
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Malaysia 17.4%,
US 15.3%, Hong Kong 9.2%, Japan 7.1%, China 5.5%, Taiwan 4.9%,
Thailand 4.6%, South Korea 4.2% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$121.6 billion
(2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and
equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
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Imports - partners:
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Malaysia 18.2%,
US 14.3%, Japan 12.5%, China 7.6%, Thailand 4.6%, Taiwan 4.6%
(2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$9.1 billion
(2003 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$NA |
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Currency:
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Singapore dollar
(SGD) |
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Currency code:
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SGD |
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Exchange rates:
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Singapore dollars
per US dollar - 1.74 (2003), 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001), 1.72
(2000), 1.69 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 April - 31
March |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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1,896,100 (2004) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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3,521,800 (2004) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: excellent service
domestic: excellent domestic facilities
international: country code - 65; submarine cables to
Malaysia (Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia), Indonesia, and the
Philippines; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian
Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean
region) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 0, FM 17,
shortwave 2 (2003) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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7 (2003) |
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Internet country code:
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.sg |
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Internet hosts:
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338,349 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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2.31 million
(2002) |
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Railways:
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total:
38.6 km
narrow gauge: 38.6 km 1.000-m gauge
note: there is also an 83 km mass transit system with
48 stations |
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Highways:
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total:
3,066 km
paved: 3,066 km (including 150 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
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Waterways:
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none |
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Pipelines:
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gas 139 km (2003) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Singapore |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 900
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 23,065,290 GRT/36,393,317 DWT
by type: bulk 136, cargo 84, chemical tanker 96,
combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 8, container 186,
liquefied gas 41, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large
load carrier 2, petroleum tanker 290, refrigerated cargo 2,
roll on/roll off 5, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker
10, vehicle carrier 32
registered in other countries: 383 (2003 est.)
foreign-owned: Australia 6, China 15, Denmark 32,
Germany 18, Greece 12, Hong Kong 31, India 3, Indonesia 33,
Japan 58, South Korea 13, Malaysia 31, Monaco 19, Norway 53,
Papua New Guinea 1, Philippines 9, Russia 2, Slovenia 1,
Sweden 12, Switzerland 5, Taiwan 44, Tanzania 1, Thailand 16,
United Kingdom 15, United States 1 |
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Airports:
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9 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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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 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Army, Navy, Air
Force, People's Defense Force |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 1,292,471 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 934,317 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$4.47 billion
(FY01 est.) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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4.9% (FY01) |
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Disputes - international:
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disputes with
Malaysia over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore,
Singapore's land reclamation works, bridge construction,
maritime boundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih
persist - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute
within three years |
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Illicit drugs:
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as a
transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is
vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, to be used as
a transit point for Golden Triangle heroin and as a venue for
money laundering |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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