About Singapure
Singapur
Known officially as the Republic of Singapore, Singapore is actually a Southeast Asian island city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula (85 miles north of the equator). An island country consisting of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia’s Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. The country is highly urbanized with very little primary rainforest remaining, although more land is being created for development through land reclamation.
As a center of world trade, Singapore got its start in 1819, when its then-ruler, the Johor Sultanate, granted the East India Company permission to set up a trading post The British obtained sovereignty over the island in 1824 and Singapore became one of the British Straits Settlements in 1826. Occupied by the Japanese in World War II, Singapore later declared independence, uniting with other former British territories to form Malaysia in 1963, although it was separated from Malaysia two years later. Since then, it has had a massive increase in wealth, and is one of the so-called “Four Asian Tigers”.
Singapore is the world’s fourth-leading financial center, and its port is one of the five busiest ports in the world. The economy depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing. In terms of purchasing power parity, Singapore has the third highest per capita income in the world.
Slightly over five million people live in Singapore, of which 2.91 million were born locally. Visitors will note that the local population is highly diverse — the majority is Chinese with nearly 75% of the total population, while Malays and Indians forming significant minorities. Reflecting this diversity, the country has four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil.