Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore , is an island city-state off 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 km 2 (274.2 sq mi), Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast Asia. It is substantially larger than Monaco and Vatican City, the only other present-day sovereign city-states.
Singapore is an alpha World City. Singapore is unique as it is the only country in Asia which has English as its first language. Singapore also has one of the highest percentage of foreigners in the world. 36% of the population in Singapore are foreigners and foreigners make up 50% of the service sector in Singapore.
Even before independence in 1965, Singapore was already one of the richest states in East Asia due to its strategic location as a trading port. Its GDP per capita then was $511, roughly the same as Portugal. In comparison, both South Korea and China had a GDP per capita of $105 and $90 respectively in 1965. After independence, Foreign direct investment into Singapore and a state-led drive to industrialization based on plans drawn up by Goh Keng Swee and Albert Winsemius have created a modern economy focused on industry, education and urban planning. Singapore is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita and 23rd wealthiest in terms of GDP (nominal) per capita. As of January 2009, Singapore's official foreign reserves stand at US$170.3 billion (9th in the world). The city state is also the second most crowded country in the world after Monaco.
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. 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.
The population of Singapore including non-residents is approximately 4.99 million. 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.
Singapore is a parliamentary republic, and the Constitution of Singapore establishes representative democracy as the nation's political system. The People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won control of Parliament in every election since self-government in 1959. Freedom House ranks Singapore as "partly free" in its "Freedom in the World report" and The Economist ranks Singapore as a "hybrid regime" in its "Democracy Index".
Etymology
Main article: Names of SingaporeThe English language name Singapore comes from Malay Singapura , "Lion-city", but it is possible that one element of its name had a more distant original source. Pura comes from Tamil Puram (புரம்),meaning city or a metropolis.
Singa- comes from Tamil Singam (சிங்கம்) , which means lion. Today the city-state is referred to as the Lion City . Studies of Singapore indicate that lions probably never lived there, not even Asiatic lions; the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama, the founder of Singapore who gave it the name meaning "Lion City", was most likely a tiger, probably the Malayan Tiger.
"Singapore" is the name of both the city and country, which are the same entity. That is, the entire country constitutes a single municipality. It is considered incorrect to call the city "Singapore City."
History
Main article: History of SingaporeFirst settlement (Pre-1819)
Main article: Early history of SingaporeThe first records of settlement in Singapore are from the 2nd century AD. The island was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire and originally had the Javanese name Temasek ('sea town'). Temasek (Tumasek) rapidly became a significant trading settlement, but declined in the late 14th century. There are few remnants of old Temasek in Singapore, but archaeologists in Singapore have uncovered artifacts of that and other settlements.
Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Singapore island was part of the Sultanate of Johor. During the Malay-Portugal wars in 1613, the settlement was set ablaze by Portuguese troops. The Portuguese subsequently held control in that century and the Dutch in the 18th, but throughout most of this time the island's population consisted mainly of fishermen.
British colonial rule (1819–1940)
Main article: Founding of modern SingaporeOn 29 January 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed on the main island. Spotting its potential as a strategic trading post for Southeast Asia, Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company on 6 February 1819 to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post and settlement.
Until 1824, Singapore was still a territory controlled by a Malay Sultan. It officially became a British colony on 2 August 1824 when John Crawfurd, the second resident of Singapore, officially made the whole island a British possession by signing a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah in which the Sultan and the Temmenggong handed it over to the British East India Company, marking the start of the island's modern era.
Raffles' deputy, William Farquhar, oversaw a period of growth and ethnic migration, largely spurred by a no-restriction immigration policy. The British India office governed the island from 1858, but it was made a British crown colony in 1867, answerable directly to the Crown. By 1869, 100,000 people lived on the island.
The early onset of town planning in colonial Singapore came largely through a "divide and rule" framework where the different ethnic groups were settled in different parts of the South of the island. The Singapore River was largely a commercial area dominated by traders and bankers of various ethnic groups with mostly Chinese and Indian coolies working to load and unload goods from barge boats known as "bumboats".
The Malays, consisting of the local "Orang Lauts" who worked mostly as fishermen and seafarers, and Arab traders and scholars were mostly found in the Southeast part of the river mouth, where Kampong Glam stands today. The European settlers, who were few then, settled around Fort Canning Hill and farther upstream from the Singapore River.
Like the Europeans, the early Indian migrants also settled more inland of the Singapore River, where Little India stands today. Little is known about the rural private settlements in those times (known as kampongs ), other than the major move by the post-independent Singapore government to re-settle these residents in the late 1960s.
World War II (1941–1945)
Main article: Japanese occupation of SingaporeDuring World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The British were defeated in six days, and surrendered the supposedly impregnable fortress to General Tomoyuki Yamashita on 15 February 1942. The surrender was described by the British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, as, "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history." The British naval base (see above) was destroyed before the Japanese could take over the base and make use of it. Widespread indiscriminate killing of the Chinese population occurred (see Sook Ching massacre).
The Japanese renamed Singapore Shōnantō ( 昭南島 ? ) , from Japanese "Shōwa no jidai ni eta minami no shima" ( " 昭 和の時代に得た 南 の 島 " ? ) , or "southern island obtained in the age of Shōwa", and occupied it until the British repossessed the island on 12 September 1945, a month after the Japanese surrender. The name Shōnantō was, at the time, romanised as "Syonan-to" or "Syonan", which means "Light of the South".
Independence (1946–present)
Main article: History of the Republic of SingaporeFollowing the war, the British government allowed Singapore to hold its first general election, in 1955, which was won by a pro-independence candidate, David Marshall, who thus became Chief Minister.
Demanding complete self-rule, Marshall led a delegation to London, but was refused by the British. He resigned upon return, and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock, whose policies then convinced the British. Singapore was granted full internal self-government with its own prime minister and Cabinet overseeing all matters of government except defence and foreign affairs.
Elections were then held on 30 May 1959 with the People's Action Party winning a landslide victory. Singapore eventually became a self-governing state within the British Empire on
Snow City Singapore - Real snow, Real fun, All year ...
MinusZero Bar - Probably the coolest bar in Asia!! Notifications Ski and Snowboarding are available from 7pm – 9pm. For prior booking kindly click here or call 6425 0801 for ...
Singapore Hotels: Compare Cheap Singapore Accommodation ...
HotelsCombined™ compares the best hotel reservation sites to find the cheapest accommodation deals on 341 hotels in Singapore, Singapore.
Singapore City Gallery
Asmah and Osman, our Gallery Navigators, welcome more than 230,000 visitors each year. Don’t want to climb a skyscraper to catch a glimpse of Singapore?
Action City - reDiscover PLAY!
for Action City's new product launches, latest promotions, photos & other exciting updates! Action City Retail Stores in Singapore 313@Somerset - 313 Orchard Road
City Tours Singapore Coach Tours & FunVee Open Top Bus ...
City Tours Singapore - FunVee Open Top Bus trails brings you on exciting adventures to Sentosa, Mt Faber, Chinatown, Asian Cicilisations Museum and Night Safari. We also provide ...
Singapore Hostel - City Backpackers Hostel, Best Budget ...
City Backpackers: Backpacker Youth hostel in Singapore for independent travellers on budget and dormitory accommodations in Singapore. We are a small, clean, cozy and friendly ...
City Tours Singapore - Singapore Tours, Educational and ...
City Tours Singapore - Amphibious DUKw (pronounced duck)tours, Open Top Bus Tours, Educational Tours and Coach Tours. Book Online for discount
Furama City Centre, Singapore
SINGAPORE'S LEADING BUSINESS HOTEL IN THE HEART OF CHINATOWN Furama City Centre is centrally located in vibrant Chinatown and at the fringe of the ...
City Harvest Church ::
5000 youth from CHC gathered on Monday eve. Inspiring testimonies from our youth ldrs in e mktplace n campuse http://tweetphoto.com/14492354 15 Mar 2010
City Hall, Singapore - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The City Hall (Chinese: 政府大厦; Malay: Dewan Bandaraya; Tamil: நகர மண்டபம்) in Singapore is a national monument gazetted on 14 February 1992.