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 Singapore| Facts & Figures |
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| President: S. R. Nathan (1999) Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong
(2004) Land area: 241 sq mi (624 sq km); total
area: 267 sq mi (692.7 sq km) Population (2009 est.): 4,657,542
(growth rate: 1.0%); birth rate: 8.8/1000; infant mortality rate:
2.3/1000; life expectancy: 81.9; density per sq mi: 18,898
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Singapore, 3,438,600 Monetary unit: Singapore dollar More Facts & Figures |
GeographyThe Republic of Singapore consists of the main island of Singapore, off
the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula between the South China Sea and
the Indian Ocean, and 58 nearby islands.
GovernmentParliamentary republic.
HistoryInhabitants of the Malaysian peninsula and the island of Singapore
first migrated to the area between 2500 and 1500
B.C.
(
see
Malaysia). British and Dutch interest in the
region grew with the spice trade, and the trading post of Singapore was
founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles. It was made a separate Crown
colony of Britain in 1946, when the former colony of the Straits
Settlements was dissolved. The other two settlements on the
peninsula—Penang and Malacca—became part of the Union of Malaya, and the
small island of Labuan was transferred to North Borneo. The Cocos (or
Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island were transferred to Australia in
1955 and in 1958, respectively.
Singapore attained full internal self-government in 1959, and Lee Kwan
Yew, an economic visionary with an authoritarian streak, took the helm as
prime minister. On Sept. 16, 1963, Singapore joined Malaya, Sabah (North
Borneo), and Sarawak in the Federation of Malaysia. It withdrew from the
federation on Aug. 9, 1965, and a month later proclaimed itself a
republic.
Under Lee, Singapore developed into one of the cleanest, safest, and
most economically prosperous cities in Asia. However, Singapore's strict
rules of civil obedience also drew criticism from those who said the
nation's prosperity was achieved at the expense of individual
freedoms.
S. R. Nathan was declared president without an election when he was
certified as the only candidate eligible to run in 1999 elections. In Aug.
2004, Lee Hsien Loong became the country's third prime minister since
Singapore gained independence from Britain in 1965. Lee faced his first
electoral challenge in May 2006. His People's Action Party (PAP) won 82
out of 84 seats in parliamentary elections.
See also
Encyclopedia:
Singapore
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Singapore
.
Department of Statistics
www.singstat.gov.sg/
.
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