Singapore

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. 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.

Geography Singapore

Location:
Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia

Geographic coordinates:
1 22 N, 103 48 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 692.7 sq km
water: 10 sq km
land: 682.7 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
193 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
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 from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from 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: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 98.36% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia

Environment - international agreements:
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

Geography - note:
focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes

People Singapore

Population:
4,353,893 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
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.)

Median age:
total: 36.2 years
male: 35.9 years
female: 36.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.71% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
9.63 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
4.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
11.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
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.)

Infant mortality rate:
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

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 81.53 years
male: 78.96 years
female: 84.29 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.04 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
3,400 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
140 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Singaporean(s)
adjective: Singapore

Ethnic groups:
Chinese 76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4%

Religions:
Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist

Languages:
Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.2%
male: 96.7%
female: 89.7% (2003 est.)

Government Singapore

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore

Government type:
parliamentary republic

Capital:
Singapore

Administrative divisions:
none

Independence:
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 9 August (1965)

Constitution:
3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution)

Legal system:
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
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

Legislative branch:
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

Judicial branch:
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

Political parties and leaders:
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]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
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

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle

Economy Singapore

Economy - overview:
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.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $109.1 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.8% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $23,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: negligible
industry: 30%
services: 70% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.7% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
2 million (June 2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
financial, business, and other services 49%, manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, other 16% (2003)

Unemployment rate:
5% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $17.4 billion
expenditures: $17.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (FY03/04 est.)

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:
7.5% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
30.48 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
28.35 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
700,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
2.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
2.5 billion cu m
: Note: from Indonesia and Malaysia (2001 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables, poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish

Exports:
$142.4 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels

Exports - partners:
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)

Imports:
$121.6 billion (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Malaysia 18.2%, US 14.3%, Japan 12.5%, China 7.6%, Thailand 4.6%, Taiwan 4.6% (2002)

Debt - external:
$9.1 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Currency:
Singapore dollar (SGD)

Currency code:
SGD

Exchange rates:
Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.74 (2003), 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001), 1.72 (2000), 1.69 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Singapore

Telephones - main lines in use:
1,896,100 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
3,521,800 (2004)

Telephone system:
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)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003)

Radios:
2.6 million (2000)

Television broadcast stations:
7 (2003)

Televisions:
1.33 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.sg

Internet hosts:
338,349 (2002)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
9 (2000)

Internet users:
2.31 million (2002)

Transportation Singapore

Railways:
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

Highways:
total: 3,066 km
paved: 3,066 km (including 150 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1999)

Waterways:
none

Pipelines:
gas 139 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:
Singapore

Merchant marine:
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

Airports:
9 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
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.)

Military Singapore

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, People's Defense Force

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,292,471 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 934,317 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$4.47 billion (FY01 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
4.9% (FY01)

Transnational Issues Singapore

Disputes - international:
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

Illicit drugs:
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