Singapore Population: 5,460,302
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| 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. 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. |
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| Geography | |
| Focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes | |
| Location: | Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia |
| Geographic coordinates: | 1 22 N, 103 48 E |
| Area: | total: 697 sq km land: 687 sq km water: 10 sq km Size comparison: 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 |
| Natural hazards: | NA |
| Current Environment Issues: | industrial pollution; limited natural freshwater resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia |
| International Environment Agreements: | 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 |
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| People | |
| Population: | 5,460,302 (July 2013 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 13.6% (male 381,145/female 363,504) 15-24 years: 18.2% (male 490,526/female 505,713) 25-54 years: 50.1% (male 1,336,298/female 1,401,106) 55-64 years: 9.9% (male 269,411/female 269,137) 65 years and over: 8.1% (male 200,602/female 242,860) (2013 est.) population pyramid: |
| Median age: | total: 33.5 years male: 33.4 years female: 33.6 years (2012 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.993% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 7.72 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Death rate: | 3.41 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 15.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 2.65 deaths/1,000 live births male: 2.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 83.75 years male: 81.47 years female: 86.2 years (2012 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 0.79 children born/woman (2013 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 3,400 (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | fewer than 100 (2009 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 (official) 35%, English (official) 23%, Malay (official) 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil (official) 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% (2000 census) |
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| Government | |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Singapore conventional short form: Singapore local long form: Republic of Singapore local short form: Singapore |
| Government type: | parliamentary republic |
| Capital: | name: Singapore geographic coordinates: 1 17 N, 103 51 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| 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 pre-independence State of Singapore constitution) |
| Legal system: | English common law |
| Suffrage: | 21 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 September 2011) head of government: Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004); Deputy Prime Minister TEO Chee Hean (since 1 April 2009) and Deputy Prime Minister Tharman SHANMUGARATNAM (since 21 May 2011) cabinet: appointed by president, responsible to parliament (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president elected by popular vote for six-year term; election last held on 27 August 2011 (next to be held by August 2017); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by president; deputy prime ministers appointed by president election results: Tony TAN Keng Yam elected president from a field of four candidates with 35.2% of the votes cast |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral Parliament (87 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members (NMP) and up to nine Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP); traditionally, members of parties that came closest to winning seats may be appointed as NCMPs; NMPs are appointed by the president to ensure that a wide range of community views are present in Parliament; NMPs are independent and non-partisan members elections: last held on 7 May 2011 (next to be held in May 2016) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 60.1%, WP 12.8%, NSP 12.1%, others 15%; seats by party - PAP 81, WP 6; (seats as of February 2013 PAP 80, WP 7) |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court consists of High Court and Court of Appeals; Specialist Commercial Courts consist of Admiralty Court, Intellectual Property Court, and Abritation Court note: (chief justice, judges of appeal, and judicial commissioners are appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister) |
| Political parties and leaders: | National Solidarity Party or NSP [Hazel POA]; People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]; Reform Party [Kenneth JEYARETNAM]; Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [Desmond LIM]; Singapore Democratic Party [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong]; Workers' Party or WP [LOW Thia Khiang] note: SDA includes Singapore Justice Party or SJP and Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | none |
| International organization participation: | ADB, AOSIS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, EAS, FATF, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIT, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Ashok Kumar MIRPURI chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100 FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador David I. ADELMAN 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 | |
| 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 higher than that of most developed countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics, information technology products, pharmaceuticals, and on a growing financial services sector. Real GDP growth averaged 8.6% between 2004 and 2007. The economy contracted 0.8% in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but rebounded 14.8% in 2010, on the strength of renewed exports, before slowing to 5.2% in 2011 and 1.3% in 2012, largely a result of soft demand for exports during the second European recession. Over the longer term, the government hopes to establish a new growth path that focuses on raising productivity, which has sunk to an average of about 1.0% in the last decade. Singapore 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. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $325.1 billion (2012 est.) $321 billion (2011 est.) $305.1 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $276.5 billion (2012 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 1.3% (2012 est.) 5.2% (2011 est.) 14.8% (2010 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $60,900 (2012 est.) $60,700 (2011 est.) $58,900 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 0% industry: 26.8% services: 73.2% (2012 est.) |
| Labor force: | 3.618 million note: excludes non-residents (2012 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 0.1% industry: 19.6% services: 80.3% note: excludes non-residents (2011) |
| Unemployment rate: | 2% (2012 est.) 2% (2011 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | NA% |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 4.4% highest 10%: 23.2% (2008) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 47.8 (2012) 48.1 (2008) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (2012 est.) 5.2% (2011 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 24.7% of GDP (2012 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $42.47 billion expenditures: $39.97 billion note: expenditures include both operational and development expenditures (2012 est.) |
| Public debt: | 111.4% of GDP (2012 est.) 106% of GDP (2011 est.) note: for Singapore, public debt consists largely of Singapore Government Securities (SGS) issued to assist the Central Provident Fund (CPF), which administers Singapore's defined contribution pension fund; special issues of SGS are held by the CPF, and are non-tradable; the government has not borrowed to finance deficit expenditures since the 1980s |
| Agriculture - products: | 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: | 0.1% (2012 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 45.37 billion kWh (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 54 |
| Electricity - consumption: | 41.2 billion kWh (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 8.778 billion cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 8.778 billion cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.) |
| Current account balance: | $51.44 billion (2012 est.) $65.32 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports: | $408.4 billion (2012 est.) $409.2 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | machinery and equipment (including electronics and telecommunications), pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, refined petroleum products |
| Exports - partners: | Malaysia 12.2%, Hong Kong 11%, Indonesia 10.4%, China 10.4%, US 5.5%, Japan 4.5% (2011) |
| Imports: | $379.7 billion (2012 est.) $365.4 billion (2011 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners: | US 10.8%, Malaysia 10.7%, China 10.4%, Japan 7.2%, South Korea 5.9%, Indonesia 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.8% (2011) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $259.3 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $237.9 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $24.64 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $23.62 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $454.9 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $517.5 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $300.3 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $331 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $709.4 billion (31 December 2012) $569.4 billion (31 December 2011) $620.5 billion (31 December 2010) |
| Exchange rates: | Singapore dollars (SGD) per US dollar - 1.253 (2012 est.) 1.258 (2011 est.) 1.3635 (2010 est.) 1.4545 (2009) 1.415 (2008) |
| Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March |
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| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 2.017 million (2011) country comparison to the world: 58 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 7.794 million (2011) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: excellent service domestic: excellent domestic facilities; launched 3G wireless service in February 2005; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity more than 180 telephones per 100 persons; multiple providers of high-speed Internet connectivity and the government is close to completing an island-wide roll out of a high-speed fiber-optic broadband network 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 (2011) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .sg |
| Internet hosts: | 1.96 million (2012) |
| Internet users: | 3.235 million (2009) |
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| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 9 (2012) country comparison to the world: 158 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 9 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2012) |
| Pipelines: | gas 111 km (2010) |
| Roadways: | total: 3,356 km paved: 3,356 km (includes 161 km of expressways) (2009) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 1,599 by type: bulk carrier 247, cargo 109, carrier 6, chemical tanker 256, container 339, liquefied gas 131, petroleum tanker 436, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 5, vehicle carrier 57 foreign-owned: 966 (Australia 12, Bangladesh 1, Belgium 1, Bermuda 25, Brazil 9, Chile 6, China 29, Cyprus 6, Denmark 149, France 3, Germany 32, Greece 22, Hong Kong 46, India 21, Indonesia 60, Italy 5, Japan 164, Malaysia 27, Netherlands 1, Norway 153, Russia 2, South Africa 13, South Korea 3, Sweden 11, Switzerland 3, Taiwan 77, Thailand 33, UAE 10, UK 6, US 36) registered in other countries: 344 (Australia 2, Bahamas 7, Bangladesh 7, Belize 4, Cambodia 3, Cyprus 1, France 3, Honduras 11, Hong Kong 13, Indonesia 46, Italy 1, Kiribati 9, Liberia 22, Malaysia 13, Maldives 4, Malta 4, Marshall Islands 30, Mongolia 3, North Korea 1, Panama 92, Philippines 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 10, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5, Sierra Leone 9, Thailand 1, Tuvalu 19, US 16, Vanuatu 2, unknown 5) (2010) |
| Ports and terminals: | Singapore |
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| Military | |
| Military branches: | Singapore Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense) (2010) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18-21 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 (enlisted) or age 50 (officers) (2008) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 1,255,902 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 1,018,839 females age 16-49: 1,087,134 (2010 est.) |
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