Singapore Location : Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Capital City : Singapore
Curreny : Singapore dollar (SGD)
Languages Spoken : Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official)
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
National Holiday : Independence Day, 9 August (1965)
Background Information
Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, but withdrew 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 one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
Geographical Note
focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes
Economy
Singapore, a highly developed and successful free-market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing, and was hard hit in 2001 by the global recession and the slump in the technology sector. In 2001, GDP contracted by 2.2%. The economy is expected to recover in 2002 in response to improvements in the US economy, and GDP growth for 2002 is projected to be 3% to 4%. 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.
Religions
Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist
Ports : Singapore
International Disputes - Risks to travellers
: Singapore and Malaysia are considering taking the unresolved dispute over Pulau Batu Putih (Pedra Branca Island) to ICJ; Malaysia concerned over Singapore's land reclamation works on Johor, which affects the maritime boundary, shipping lanes, and water ecology in the Tebrau Reach
flight Nav: cheapest-flights-to.com
>
Singapore
flights
|
|
|
