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Singapore Travel
Information
Singapore,
officially
the
Republic
of
Singapore,
is an
island
city-state
located
at the
southern
tip of
the
Malay
Peninsula,
137 kilometres
(85 mi)
north of
the
equator,
south of
the
Malaysian
state of
Johor
and
north of
Indonesia's
Riau
Islands.
At
710.2 km2
(274.2 sq mi),[8]
Singapore
is a
microstate
and the
smallest
nation
in
Southeast
Asia.
It is
substantially
larger
than
Monaco
and
Vatican
City,
the only
other
surviving
sovereign
city-states.
Before
European
settlement,
the
island
now
known as
Singapore
was the
site of
a
Malay
fishing
village
at the
mouth of
the
Singapore
River.
Several
hundred
indigenous
Orang
Laut
people
also
lived
along
the
nearby
coast,
rivers
and on
smaller
islands.
In 1819,
the
British
East
India
Company,
led by
Sir
Stamford
Raffles,
established
a
trading
post on
the
island,
which
was used
as a
port
along
the
spice
route.[9]
Singapore
became
one of
the most
important
commercial
and
military
centres
of the
British
Empire,
and the
hub of
British
power in
Southeast
Asia.
During
the
Second
World
War,
the
British
colony
was
occupied
by the
Japanese
after
the
Battle
of
Singapore,
which
Winston
Churchill
called
"Britain's
greatest
defeat".[10]
Singapore
reverted
to
British
rule in
1945,
immediately
after
the war.
Eighteen
years
later,
in 1963,
the
city,
having
achieved
independence
from
Britain,
merged
with
Malaya,
Sabah,
and
Sarawak
to form
Malaysia.
However,
Singapore's
merger
proved
unsuccessful,
and,
less
than two
years
later,
it
seceded
from the
federation
and
became
an
independent
republic
within
the
Commonwealth
of
Nations
on 9
August
1965.
Singapore
was
admitted
to the
United
Nations
on 21
September
of that
year.
Since
independence,
Singapore's
standard
of
living
has
risen
dramatically.
Foreign
direct
investment
and a
state-led
drive to
industrialization
based on
plans
drawn up
by the
Dutch
economist
Albert
Winsemius
have
created
a modern
economy
focused
on
industry,
education
and
urban
planning.[11]
Singapore
is the
5th
wealthiest
country
in the
world in
terms of
GDP
(PPP)
per
capita.[12]
As of
January
2009,
Singapore's
official
reserves
stand at
US$170.3
billion.
In 2009,
the
Economist
Intelligence
Unit
ranked
Singapore
the
tenth
most
expensive
city in
the
world in
which to
live—the
third in
Asia,
after
Tokyo
and
Osaka.[13]
The 2009
Cost of
Living
survey,
by
consultancy
firm
Mercer,
has
ranked
Singapore
similarly
as the
tenth
most
expensive
city for
expatriates
to live
in.[14][15]
The
population
of
Singapore
including
non-residents
is
approximately
4.99
million.[16]
Singapore
is
highly
cosmopolitan
and
diverse
with
Chinese
people
forming
an
ethnic
majority
with
large
populations
of
Malay,
Indian
and
other
people.
English,
Malay,
Tamil,
and
Chinese
are the
official
languages.[17]
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