Singapore Fast Facts
- Written by Christine Flor
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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. An island country made up 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.
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Land AreaA main island with over 60 surrounding islets; it has a total land area of 716.1 sq km. |
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Founding YearModern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles. |
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Ruling Political PartyThe People’s Action Party. |
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Population5.3992 million, 3.8448 million of which are Singapore residents. |
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LanguageFour official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. Widely spoken and understood, English is the working language for business and administration. |
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ReligionMain religions are Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism |
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Busiest Port in the WorldWith approximately 200 shipping lines connecting to about 600 ports, Singapore is the busiest port in the world in terms of containers handled. |
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The PeopleResident Population Make-Up:74.2% Chinese, 13.3% Malays, 9.1% Indians, 3.3% Eurasians and people of other descent. Population Growth Rate: 1.6% Median Age: 38.9 Life Expectancy (Years): Average: 82.3 Male: 79.9 Female: 84.5 Sex Ratio: 968 males per 1000 females Labour Force Participation Rate: 66.7% of population aged 15 and above Unemployment Rate: 1.8% |
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Social and Economic IndicatorsPrivate Car Ownership:607,255 (includes private and company cars) Housing: Some 81.9% of the population lives in Housing Development Board (HDB) public housing. The rest lives in private housing consisting of condominiums and various types of landed housing. There is a high level of home ownership of 90.5%. Gross Domestic Product: S$370,064.5 million at current market prices |
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Tourist IndicatorsHotel Occupancy Rate (%):86.3 Number of Tourist Arrivals: 15.466 million |
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Literacy and Education RatesLiteracy Rate* (%): * Based on the resident population aged 15 years and above ** Based on the resident population of non-students aged 25 years and above |
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Mobile and Broadband SubscriptionsTotal Mobile Subscriptions (2G+3G+4G)* (’000):
** With effect from Apr 2007, "Total Broadband Subscriptions" (i.e. for connection speeds equal to, or greater than, 256 kbit/s, in one or both directions) includes retail xDSL, cable modems, leased line Internet, 3G, 3.5G/HSDPA, 4G/LTE, WiMAX or its equivalent and Wi-Fi hotspots access (including Wireless@SG subscriptions). |