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Republic of Singapore

Republik Singapura
新加坡共和国

சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு
Motto: Majulah Singapura
(Malay for: "Onward, Singapore")
Anthem: Majulah Singapura
Location of Singapore
Capital
and largest city
Singapore 1
Official languagesEnglish, Malay (national language),

Mandarin,

Tamil
GovernmentAuthoritarian
• President
Sellapan Ramanathan
Lee Hsien Loong
Independence
• Unilateral declaration (from the UK)
August 31, 1963
• Officially from UK (as a state of Malaysia)
September 16, 1963
• From Malaysia
August 9, 1965
• Water (%)
1.444
Population
• July 2005 estimate
4,326,000 (120th)
• 2000 census
4,117,700
GDP (PPP)2006 estimate
• Total
$123.4 billion (57th)
• Per capita
$29,900 (22nd)
HDI (2003)0.907
very high (25th)
CurrencySingapore Dollar (SGD)
Time zoneUTC+8 (SST)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+8 (Not observed)
Calling code652
ISO 3166 codeSG
Internet TLD.sg
1. Singapore is a city-state.
2. 02 when dialling from Malaysia

Singapore, formally the Republic of Singapore (Template:Lang-ms; Chinese: 新加坡共和国, Pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Gònghéguó; Template:Lang-ta, [Ciŋkappūr Kudiyarasu] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), is an island city-state and the smallest country in Southeast Asia. It is located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, south of the Malaysian state of Johor, and north of the Indonesian Riau Islands. Its coordinates are 1°17.583′N 103°51.333′E / 1.293050°N 103.855550°E / 1.293050; 103.855550, just 137 kilometres (85 miles) north of the Equator.

The site of several ancient port cities and a possession of several empires in its history, Singapore was a Malay fishing village when it was colonised by the United Kingdom in the 19th century. It was further occupied by the Japanese Empire in World War II, and was later part of the merger which established the Federation of Malaysia. When Singapore acquired independence, having few natural resources, it was sociopolitically volatile and economically undeveloped. Foreign investment and rapid government-led industrialisation has since created an economy which relies on exports of electronics and manufacturing primarily from its port.

More than 90% of Singapore's population lives in housing estates constructed by the Housing Development Board and nearly half uses the public transport system daily [1]. As a result of public transport and environmental initiatives by government ministries, Singapore's pollution is mostly confined within the heavy industry area on Jurong Island. The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the city-state as a representative democracy. Singapore initially undertook a democratic socialist policy shortly after its independence, adopting a welfare system. However, the government has since become more conservative than it was at the founding of the republic.

History

Main article: History of Singapore

The name Singapore is derived from the Malay words [singa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (lion) and [pura] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (city), which were themselves derived from the Sanskrit words सिंह siMha and पुर pura.[2] Hence, Singapore is also known as the Lion City. The naming is attributed to a prince named Sang Nila Utama, who according to folklore, saw a lion as the first living creature on the island and decided to name it Singapura as a result.[3]

The first records of Singapore's existence are in Chinese texts from the 3rd century AD. The island was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire and originally bore the Javanese name Temasek (which means sea town). Temasek rose to become a significant trading city, but subsequently declined. There are few remnants of old Temasek in Singapore, but archaeologists in Singapore have uncovered evidence of the civilization, as well as other settlements. Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Singapore was a part of the Sultanate of Johore. During the Malay-Portugal wars in 1617, Singapore was set ablaze by Portuguese troops.

Statue of Thomas Stamford Raffles by Thomas Woolner, erected at the spot where he first landed at Singapore. He is recognised as the founder of modern Singapore.

In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, an official with the British East India Company, signed a treaty with the Sultan of Johore. He also established Singapore as a trading post and settlement, which saw instant growth and immigration from various ethnic groups. Singapore was later made a crown colony by Britain in 1867. After a series of colonial territorial expansions, the British Empire soon raised Singapore's status to that of an entrepot town, due to its strategic location along the busy shipping routes connecting Europe to China.[4]

During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya and the surrounding region in the Battle of Malaya, which culminated in the Battle of Singapore. The British were unprepared and swiftly defeated, despite having more troops. They surrendered to the Japanese on 15 February 1942. The Japanese renamed Singapore as Syonan-to, Japanese for "Light of the South", and occupied it until the British arrived to repossess the island a month after the Japanese surrender to the United States in September 1945.[5]

Singapore became a self-governing state in 1959 with Yusof bin Ishak as its first head of state and Lee Kuan Yew from the People's Action Party (PAP) as its first Prime Minister, after the 1959 elections. The Merger Referendum passed in 1962 and led to Singapore joining the Federation of Malaysia along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as a state with autonomous powers in September 1963. Singapore was expelled from the federation on 7 August 1965 after heated ideological conflict developed between the state government formed by PAP and the Federal government in Kuala Lumpur. It gained official sovereignty two days later on 9 August 1965, which later became Singapore's National Day. Malaysia was the first country to recognise it as an independent nation.[6]

The fledgling nation had to become self-sufficient, and faced problems including mass unemployment, housing shortages and lack of land and natural resources such as petroleum. During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, his administration immediately curbed unemployment, raised the standard of living and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. The country economic infrastructure was developed, the threat of racial tension was eliminated and an independent national defence system was created. Singapore evolved from a developing nation to first world status towards the end of the 20th century.[7]

In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister. During his tenure, the country tackled the economic impacts of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak, as well as terrorist threats posed by the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) post-September 11 and the Bali bombings. In 2004 Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister.[8]

Politics and government

Main article: Politics of Singapore
File:Singapore Parliament House.jpg
Parliament House

Singapore is a republic with a Westminster system of a unicameral parliamentary government representing different constituencies of Singapore. The bulk of the executive powers rests in the hands of the Cabinet of Singapore, which consists of ministers led by the Prime Minister of Singapore. The office of the President of Singapore was, historically, a ceremonial one as head of state, but the Constitution of Singapore was amended in 1991 to create the position of a popularly elected President and also to grant the President veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary positions.[9] The legislative branch of government is the Parliament. Parliamentary elections in Singapore are plurality-based for group representation constituencies since the Parliamentary Elections Act was modified in 1991. [10]

Singaporean politics have been dominated by the People's Action Party (PAP) since the country's independence in 1965.[11] Foreign political analysts and several opposition parties including the Workers' Party of Singapore and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) have argued that Singapore is a de facto one-party state. Many consider the form of government in Singapore to be closer to authoritarianism such as illiberal democracy or procedural democracy rather than true democracy. Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 140th out of 167 countries in its 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index. It has also been alleged that the PAP employs censorship, gerrymandering by the Elections Department and the filing of civil suits against the opposition for libel or slander to impede their success. Several former and present members of the opposition, including Francis Seow, J.B. Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan perceive the Singaporean courts as favourable towards the government and the PAP due to a lack of separation of powers. [12] Although no PAP member has ever lost a defamation case in court, there are three cases in which opposition leader Chiam See Tong sued PAP members for defamation and successfully obtained an out-of-court settlement. [13]

Singapore has what its government considers to be a highly successful and transparent market economy. The PAP's policies contain some aspects of socialism. The Housing Development Board oversees a large-scale public housing programme and education in Singapore is a rigorous compulsory public education system, and the dominance of government-controlled companies in the local economy. Although dominant in its activities, the government has a clean, corruption-free image. Singapore has consistently been rated as the least-corrupt country in Asia and amongst the top ten cleanest from corruption in the world by Transparency International.[14]

Although Singapore's laws are inherited from British and British Indian laws, including many elements of English common law, the PAP has also consistently rejected liberal democratic values, which it typifies as Western and states that there should not be a 'one-size-fits-all' solution to a democracy. Laws restricting the freedom of speech are justified by claims that they are intended to prohibit speech that may breed ill will or cause disharmony within Singapore's multiracial, multi-religious society. For example, in September 2005, three bloggers were convicted of sedition for posting racist remarks targeting minorities.[15] Some offences can lead to heavy fines or caning and there are laws which allow capital punishment in Singapore for first-degree murder and drug trafficking. Amnesty International has criticised Singapore for having "possibly the highest execution rate in the world" per capita.[16] The Singapore government argued that there is no international consensus on the appropriateness of the death penalty and that Singapore has the sovereign right to determine its own judicial system and impose capital punishment for the most serious crimes. [17] However, more recently the PAP has relaxed some of its socially conservative policies.

Geography

Main article: Geography and climate of Singapore
Singapore is divided into 55 urban planning areas, grouped into 5 regions.
File:Singapore botanic garden pond.jpg
Singapore Botanic Gardens, a 52-hectare (128 acre) botanical garden in Singapore that includes the National Orchid Garden which has a collection of more than 3,000 species of orchids.
View of the central part of the city.

Singapore is a diamond-shaped island with surrounding smaller islands. There are two connections from Singapore to the Malaysian state of Johor — a man-made causeway known as the Johor-Singapore Causeway to the north, crossing the Tebrau Straits, and Tuas Second Link, a bridge in the western part of Singapore that connects to Johor. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's many smaller islands. The highest point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill, with a height of 166 metres (538 ft).

The urban area used to be only concentrated on the southern part of Singapore around the mouth of the Singapore River and what is now the Downtown Core, while the rest of the land was tropical rainforest or used for agriculture. Since the 1960s, the government has constructed new towns in outlying areas, resulting in an entirely built-up and urban landscape, although the Central Area, the central business district, remains the densest. The Urban Redevelopment Authority is a government agency responsible for the urban planning of Singapore that concentrates on efficient land use and distribution, as well as transport flow. It has released a Development Guide Plan which details specific land use for each the 55 urban planning areas of Singapore.

Singapore has reclaimed land with earth obtained from its own hills, the seabed and neighbouring countries. As a result, Singapore's land area grew from 581.5 square kilometres (224.5 sq mi) in the 1960s to 697.2 square kilometres (269.1 sq mi) today, and may grow by another 100 square kilometres (38.6 sq mi) by 2030.[18] About 23% of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature reserves.

Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinct seasons, under the Köppen climate classification. Its climate is characterised by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall. Temperatures range from 22°C to 34 °C (72°–93°F). On average, the relative humidity is around 90% in the morning and 60% in the afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100%.[19] The lowest and highest temperature recorded in its maritime history is 18.4 °C (65.1 °F) and 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) respectively.

Urbanisation has eliminated many areas of primary rainforest that once existed, with the only remaining area of primary rainforest being Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. A variety of parks, however, are maintained with human intervention, such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Without natural freshwater rivers and lakes, the primary domestic source of water supply in Singapore is rainfall, collected in reservoirs or catchment areas. Rainfall supplies approximately 50% of Singapore's water; the remainder is imported from Malaysia or obtained from recycled water facilities, a product called NEWater and desalination plants. More NEWater and desalination plants are being built or proposed to reduce reliance on foreign supply.[20]

Economy

Main article: Economy of Singapore
The Merlion is one of the best-known tourist icons of Singapore.
The Central Area is the central business district and hub of economic transactions in Singapore, and is also the home of the Singapore Exchange, Asia-Pacific's first de-mutualised and integrated securities and derivatives exchange.

Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy, and is often considered to be a developed nation. It ranks 25th on the Human Development Index[21] which measures standard of living, and second in the Index of Economic Freedom, just behind Hong Kong, which doesn't have national sovereignty. Although Singapore has one of the highest per capita gross domestic products (GDP) in the world, domestic demand is relatively low due to a small population.

The economy depends heavily on exports produced from refining imported goods in a form of extended entrepot trade, especially in manufacturing. Manufacturing contributes around 28% to GDP in 2005. The manufacturing industry is today well-diversified with electronics, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences manufacturing. Along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, Singapore's fast-paced industrialization earned it a place as one of the four original 'East Asian Tigers'.

In 2001, a global recession and slump in the technology sector caused the GDP to contract by 2.2%. The Economic Review Committee (ERC), set up in December 2001, recommended several policy changes with a view to revitalising the economy. Singapore has since recovered from the recession, largely due to improvements in the world economy; the Singaporean economy itself grew by 6.4% in 2005.[22] In the longer term the government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle than the current export-led model, but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. The per capita GDP in 2005 was US$30,228 and the unemployment rate was 2.9% in June 2006, up from 2.5% in January the same year.[23] The economy is expected to grow by 5–7% in the year 2006, after a strong growth in the economy in the second quarter of year 2006. The growth was 7.5%. Initially Lee Hsien Loong, who is the current Finance Minister and Prime Minister, had announced expectations of 4-6%. [24]

Singapore introduced a Goods and Services Tax (GST) with an initial rate of 3% on 1 April 1994. This has substantially increased government revenue by $1.6 billion, stabilising the government's finances.[25] The government has used revenue from the GST to reorient the economy around services and value added-goods to reduce dependence on electronics manufacturing. The taxable GST was increased to 4% in 2003 and to 5% in 2004.[26]

Singapore is a popular travel destination, making tourism one of its largest industries. In 2005, a total of 9.05 million tourists visited Singapore. Much of its attraction can be attributed to its cultural diversity that reflects almost 200 years of colonial history with immigrant cultures originating from Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Arab ethnicities. The Orchard Road district, which is dominated by multi-storey shopping centres and hotels, is the centre of tourism in Singapore. Other popular tourist attractions include the Singapore Zoo and its Night Safari along with the tourist island of Sentosa. To attract more tourists, the government decided in 2005 to legalise gambling and to allow two Integrated Resorts to be developed at Marina South and Sentosa.[27]

Military and defence

The Gurkha Contingent of the Singapore Police Force, with its members recruited from Nepal, is a counter-terrorist force in the country. Here, the officers join local officers in the annual Police Day Parade.
Main articles: Military of Singapore and Total Defence

The military of Singapore serves primarily as a deterrent to potential invaders of the island. Singapore has mutual defence pacts with several allies that it militarily cooperates with, such as those in the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Singapore uses the concept of Total Defence, which classifies defence into five aspects. Besides the military, the other four aspects of Total Defence are civil defence, which is carried out by the Singapore Civil Defence Force, and concepts of 'economic defence', 'psychological defence', and 'social defence'.

The military of Singapore comprises various armed forces collectively known as the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). Various agencies of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and some private companies also play a supporting role. The military of Singapore is one of the most modernised in Asia, with its current standing reflecting the continued emphasis of the government on military defence — military expenditures dominate the annual government budget.

The recent uses of unconventional warfare and terrorism have elevated the other aspects of Total Defence. The Gurkha Contingent, which is part of the Singapore Police Force, is also a counter-terrorist force. Singapore's defence resources have been used for international humanitarian aid missions. These missions included United Nations peacekeeping abroad in areas such as Kosovo, Kuwait and East Timor,[28] and participating in the multinational force in Iraq.[29] Even after World War II, while still in the Federation of Malaysia, Singapore suffered bomb attacks during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation sponsored by Indonesia while it was under President Sukarno. Other recent threats include the Jemaah Islamiyah, which tried to attack Singapore in the Singapore embassies attack plot.

Demographics

Built in 1843, the Sri Mariamman Temple is the largest Hindu temple in Singapore. It is also one of the many religious buildings marked as national monuments for their historical value.
Main articles: Demographics of Singapore and Religion in Singapore

Singapore is the second most densely populated independent country in the world excluding Macau and Hong Kong which are parts of PRC. Eighty-four percent of Singaporeans live in public housing provided by the Housing and Development Board (HDB).[30] Its population of 4.35 million (as of June 2005) is racially diverse. Singaporean Chinese, the majority, account for 76.8% of Singaporeans. Singaporean Malays, who are the indigenous native group of the country, constitute 13.9%, though this number includes many Malay ethnic groups from other parts of the Malay archipelago including the Javanese, Bugis, Baweans and Minangkabau. Indian Singaporeans are the third largest ethnic group at 7.9%, consisting of several groups— Indian Tamils and Sri Lankan Tamils, who form the largest Indian group, and others such as Malayalees, Punjabis and Bengalis. The rest are made up of smaller groups such as Arab Singaporeans, Jews, Thais, Japanese, European and the Eurasian Singaporean community.[31]

Singapore is also a multi-religious country, due mainly to its location on one of the world's major transportation routes. More than 40% of Singaporeans profess adherence to Buddhism. The large percentage may be due to a lack of distinction between Taoism and Buddhism; Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and ancestral worship are merged into one religion by most of the Chinese population. Most Muslims are Malay. Christianity in Singapore consists of Roman Catholicism and various Protestant denominations, and comprises approximately 14% of the population. Other religions include Sikhism, Hinduism and the Baha'i Faith followed mainly by those of Indian descent.[32]

The government of Singapore has been careful to maintain ethnic harmony after racial riots erupted in the 1960s. Racial harmony has been emphasized in all aspects of society, including the Singaporean education system, military and housing. So far the policy has been largely successful, and there have been few signs of ethnic tension since the early 1970s. Current issues include the ban on wearing the Islamic headscarf in public schools. The national language of Singapore is Malay for historical reasons, and it is used in the national anthem, "Majulah Singapura". The official languages are English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. English has been promoted as the country's language of administration since independence, and it is spoken by the majority of the population. Most public signs and official publication are in English although there are also translated versions in the other official languages. The government has introduced a Speak Mandarin Campaign- Hua Yu Cool - to promote Mandarin as a common language among the Chinese. [33]

After two decades of a successful family planning policy, Singapore is now facing the threat of an aging population with declining birth rates. The government is encouraging Singaporeans to have more children through the provision of financial incentives for the first to fourth child of each family.[34]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Singapore
Singaporean cuisine is a national pastime. Hundreds of hawker centres and kopi tiams are distributed throughout the country.
The majority of Singaporeans live in planned estates of high-rise, closely-packed HDB flats.

Singapore is a small and relatively modern amalgam of an indigenous Malay population with a third generation Chinese majority, as well as Indian and Arab immigrants with some intermarriages. There also exist Eurasian and Peranakan (known also as 'Straits Chinese') communities. Singapore has also achieved a significant degree of cultural diffusion with its unique combination of these ethnic groups, and this has given Singapore a rich mixture of diversity for its young age. One of the prime examples is in Singaporean cuisine, often a cultural attraction for tourists.

The English used is primarily British English, with some American English influences. The local colloquial dialect of English is Singlish, which has many creole-like characteristics, having incorporated vocabulary and grammar from various Chinese dialects, Malay, and Indian languages. Singlish is spoken commonly on the streets, but the government frowns upon its use in official contexts. English became widespread in Singapore after it was implemented as a first language medium in the education system, and English is the most common language in Singaporean literature.

Singapore has several ethnic neighbourhoods, including Little India and Chinatown. These were formed under the Raffles Plan to originally segregate the immigrants, but now have a diverse patronage whose main intentions are to either eat or buy something specific to that culture. Many places of worship were also constructed during the colonial era, a practice encouraged by the British to promote religious tolerance. Sri Mariamman Temple, the Masjid Jamae Mosque and the Church of Gregory the Illuminator are among those that were built during the colonial period. Work is now underway to preserve these religious sites as National Monuments of Singapore. The policy for the primarily commercial ethnic neighbourhoods stands in contrast to the housing policies of the Housing and Development Board (HDB). HDB policies attempt to promote a mix of all races within each housing district in order to foster social cohesion and national loyalty.[35]

Since the 1990s, the government has been striving to promote Singapore as a centre for arts and culture, including theatre and music, and to transform the country into a cosmopolitan and diverse community at the 'gateway between the East and West'.[36] The highlight of these efforts was the construction of Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, a centre for performing arts that opened in 2003. [37]

Education

Main article: Education in Singapore
Students having assembly in the hall of a Singapore secondary school.

Primary education is compulsory in Singapore and as such the literacy rate is 95%.[38]. The standard for the school curriculum is set by the Ministry of Education with a mix of private schools and public schools. There is no strict public-private dichotomy: the degree of autonomy in regard to the curriculum and student admission, government funding received, and tuition burden upon the students is determined by a more specific classification system that includes classifications such as "government-run", "government-aided", "autonomous", "independent", and "privately-funded". [39] Some schools have more than one classification.

The education is rigorous and specialised, and has attracted many international scholars. After primary education, students take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Their performance in the examination is the main criteria in determining whether they enter their desired secondary schools.

Some parents have criticised the system as rigid and promoting rote learning through its prominent use of large examinations to judge ability. There have also been complaints about excessive educational streaming at a young age; a popular local film, I Not Stupid, highlights the competitiveness of the system and social stigma that students struggling with studies have to face. After secondary education, a further set of examinations are taken which determine which kind of tertiary education they pursue, such as junior college, a precursor for entry into public universities such as National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. Other post-secondary institutions include polytechnics or vocational education institutes such as the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

Transport

Main article: Transport in Singapore
A C751B train at Eunos MRT Station on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, one of three heavy rail passenger transport lines in Singapore.
Singapore's Changi International Airport is one of the largest aviation facilities in Asia, serving 179 cities in 57 countries.
The Esplanade Bridge, an important roadway in the Central Area.

Singapore is a major Asian transportation hub, strategically lying on major sea and air trade routes. Its history has been closely tied to the growth of its transportation industry since the establishment of its port. The transportation industry comprises over 10% of Singaporean GDP despite an increasingly diversified economy. The Port of Singapore, managed by port operators PSA International and Jurong Port, was the world's busiest port in 2005 in terms of shipping tonnage handled with 1.15 billion gross tons handled, and in terms of containerised traffic, with 23.2 million Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled. It was also the world's second busiest in terms of cargo tonnage, coming behind Shanghai with 423 million tons handled. In addition, Singapore is the world's busiest hub for transhipment traffic and the world's biggest ship refuelling hub.[40]

Singapore is a major aviation hub and an important stopover point for the 'Kangaroo route' between Australasia and Europe. Singapore Changi Airport has a network of 81 airlines connecting Singapore to 179 cities in 57 countries (2005). It is one of the top five airports in Asia in terms of passengers handled, with 30 million passengers passing through in 2004. It has been consistently rated as one of the best international airports by numerous international travel magazines. It was also rated as the world's best airport in year 2006 by Skytrax, defeating its long time rival, Hong Kong International Airport.[41] A low-cost terminal, the Budget Terminal, which started operation in March 2006[42] and a third passenger terminal now under construction will increase the airport's total annual capacity to 66.7 million passengers by 2008. The national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) is internationally renowned for its service and will be the first airline in the world to fly the new Airbus A380 commercially.

The backbone of domestic transport infrastructure is the road transport system which includes a network of expressways that form the arteries between distinct towns and regional centres as laid out in Singapore's urban planning. Following a government study assisted by the United Nations Development Programme which foresaw problems with private transport such as traffic congestion and air pollution as the city grew, [43] the Land Transport Authority began a series of measures to develop the use of the public transport system such as improving the nation's bus service and liberalising the hired vehicle market to allow for more taxi operators. Since 1987, the heavy rail passenger Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) metro system has been in operation. MRT was later augmented by and linked to the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) light rail system, which provides service to several expanses of housing estates. The EZ-Link system allows contactless smartcards to serve as stored value tickets for use in the public transport systems. More than 2.8 million people use the bus network daily, while more than 1.3 million people use either the LRT or MRT as part of their daily routine. [1] Private vehicle use in the Central Area is discouraged by tolls implemented through an Electronic Road Pricing system which operates during hours of heavy road traffic.

International Rankings

Table of Singapore International Rankings
Date Context Organization Ranking Note
2006 Worlds Best Airports Skytrax 1/155 countries First time winner of this award since the inception in Year 2000
2006 Third annual worldwide press freedom index Reporters without borders 147/167 Countries Ranked 147th out of 167 countries
2004 Corruption Perceptions Index Transparency International 5/146 Countries Ranked 5th out of 146 countries
2005 Index of Economic Freedom Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal: 2005 2/155 Countries Ranked 2nd out of 155 Countries for a few years in a row.
2005 Worldwide quality-of-life index The Economist 11/111 Countries Ranked 11th out of 111 countries
2006 World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 IMD International 3/61 Economies Ranked 3rd out of 61 economies (countries and regions)
2006 World City's Skyline/Skyscrapers Emporis Data Committee (EDC 5/100 Major cities Ranked #5 out of all the major cities in the World. This listing ranks cities by the visual impact of their skylines.
2006 Global Competitiveness Report - Growth Competitiveness Index Ranking World Economic Forum 28/117 Countries Ranked 28th out of 117 countries

References

  • Diane K. Mauzy & R. S. Milne (2002). Singapore Politics: Under the People's Action Party. Routledge. ISBN 0415246539.
  • "Census 2000". Singapore Department of Statistics. Retrieved 11 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "Key Facts & Figures". Ministry of Transport, Singapore. Retrieved 11 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • "Nation's History". Singapore Infomap. Retrieved 11 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • This article incorporates public domain text from the websites of Singapore Department of Statistics, United States Department of State, the United States Library of Congress & CIA World Factbook (2004).

Notes

Template:IndicText

  1. ^ a b "Singapore Land Transport: Statistics In Brief 2005" (PDF). Land Transport Authority. Retrieved 2005-12-07.
  2. ^ "Singapore". bartleby.com. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  3. ^ "Early History". Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  4. ^ "Founding of Modern Singapore". Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  5. ^ Ron Taylor. "Fall of Malaya and Singapore". Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  6. ^ "Road to Independence". U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  7. ^ "Country Groups". The World Bank. Retrieved 2006-05-02.
  8. ^ "Country profile: Singapore". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  9. ^ "The Presidency in Singapore". Istana website. Retrieved 2005-01-30.
  10. ^ "Parliamentary Elections Act". Singapore Statutes Online. Retrieved 2006-05-08.
  11. ^ Worthington, Ross (2002). Governance in Singapore. Routledge/Curzon. ISBN 070071474X.
  12. ^ "Worldwide Press Freedom Index". Retrieved 2006-04-13.
  13. ^ "Resolution: Singapore Case N SIN/01 - Joshua Jeyaretnam". Inter-Parliamentary Union. 23 March 2002.
  14. ^ "Transparency International - Corruption Perceptions Index 2005". Retrieved 2006-04-13.
  15. ^ "Third racist blogger sentenced to 24 months supervised probation". Channel NewsAsia. 23 November 2005.
  16. ^ "Amnesty International". The death penalty: A hidden toll of executions. Retrieved 7 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "The Singapore Government's Response To Amnesty International's Report "Singapore - The Death Penalty: A Hidden Toll Of Executions"". Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore. 2004-01-30.
  18. ^ "Towards Environmental Sustainability, State of the Environment 2005 Report (PDF)". Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Singapore. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  19. ^ "Climate of Singapore". National Environment Agency, Singapore. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  20. ^ "Clean Water". Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Singapore. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  21. ^ 2005 UN Human Development Index Report (PDF)
  22. ^ "Performance of the Singapore Economy in 2005 (PDF), Ministry of Trade and Industry" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-14.
  23. ^ May Wong (1 February 2006). "Singapore's employment hits all-time high of 2.3 m in 2005". Channel NewsAsia.
  24. ^ "Financial Year 2006 Singapore Budget Statement" (PDF). 17 February 2006. Retrieved 2006-02-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  25. ^ "FY 1996 Budget, Revenue And Tax Changes". Retrieved 2006-05-01.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Singapore.


Panoramic view of the Singapore River. Once centre of trade and commerce as the port of Singapore during its colonial times, it is now a tourist spot with numerous bars, pubs, and seafood along the river.
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