Portal:Singapore

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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north.

Singapore's history dates back at least eight hundred years, having been a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to British control as a separate Crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and, in 1963, became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers.

As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest PPP-adjusted GDP per capita in the world. It is also identified as a tax haven. Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers. Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world. It has the third highest population density of any country in the world, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the common language, with exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

Singapore is a parliamentary republic in the Westminster tradition of unicameral parliamentary government, and its legal system is based on common law. While the country is de jure a multi-party democracy with free elections, the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields widespread control and political dominance. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, and holds a supermajority in Parliament. One of the five founding members of ASEAN, Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council Secretariat, and is the host city of many international conferences and events. Singapore is also a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations. (Full article...)

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The Mass Rapid Transit system, locally known by the initialism MRT, is a rapid transit system in Singapore and the island country's principal mode of railway transportation. After two decades of planning the system commenced operations in November 1987 with an initial 6 km (3.7 mi) stretch consisting of five stations. The network has since grown to span the length and breadth of the country's main island – with the exception of the forested core and the rural northwestern region – in accordance with Singapore's aim of developing a comprehensive rail network as the backbone of the country's public transportation system, averaging a daily ridership of 3.45 million in 2023.

The MRT network encompasses approximately 242.6 km (150.7 mi) of grade-separated route on standard gauge. As of 2024, there are currently 142 operational stations dispersed across six operational lines arrayed in a circle-radial topology. Two more lines and 45 stations are currently under construction, in addition to ongoing extension works on existing lines. In total, this will schedule the network to double in length to about 460 km (290 mi) by 2040. Further studies are ongoing on potential new alignments and lines, as well as infill stations in the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) Land Transport Masterplan 2040. The island-wide heavy rail network interchanges with a series of automated guideway transit networks localised to select suburban towns — collectively known as the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system — which, along with public buses, complement the mainline by providing a last mile link between MRT stations and HDB public housing estates. (Full article...)

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Credit: Nachoman-au (15 September 2005)

The Singapore Cable Car provides an aerial link from Mount Faber on the main island of Singapore to the resort island of Sentosa across the Keppel Harbour. Opened on 15 February 1974, it was the first aerial ropeway system in the world to span a harbour. Read more...

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General images

The following are images from various Singapore-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 2View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 3Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 4Traffic in Singapore, 1981. Prior to the introduction of the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) in 1990, vehicles per capita in Singapore was the highest in ASEAN. (from History of Singapore)
Image 5The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 6Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 71888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 8The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 9The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 10Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 11Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 12Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 13The Mao Kun map from Wubei Zhi which is based on the early 15th century maps of Zheng He showing Temasek (淡馬錫) at the top left, and Long Ya Men (龍牙門) on the right panel. (from History of Singapore)
Image 14St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 15Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 16Chinese community in Singapore carrying the Flag of the Republic of China (written Long live the motherland) to celebrate the victory, also reflected the Chinese identity issues at that time. (from History of Singapore)
Image 17Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 18Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 191955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 20Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 21Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 22Engraving of Sir Stamford Raffles by James Thomson
Image 23A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 24Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 25A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 26The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 27Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 28Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 29Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 30The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 31The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 32Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. (from History of Singapore)
Image 33Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 34A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 35Restored shophouses running along a street in Chinatown, which reflects the Victorian architecture of buildings built in Singapore during the earlier colonial period, with styles such as the painted ladies. (from History of Singapore)
Image 36Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 37The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 38Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 39The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 40Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 41Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)

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Tao Li (Chinese: 陶李; pinyin: Táo Lǐ; born 10 January 1990) is a Chinese-born Singaporean competitive swimmer who specializes in the backstroke and butterfly.

Tao has represented Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the Asian Games, World Championship, Commonwealth Games and Olympics. She holds several national records and is the only female Singapore swimmer who qualified for an Olympic Final. (Full article...)

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Ho Yuen Hoe Gan Eng Seng Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo Teresa Hsu Fandi Ahmad Denise Phua Li Jiawei Glenn Knight Laurentia Tan Yip Pin Xiu Neila Sathyalingam Walter Woon Han Sai Por Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan Xiaxue

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Sun Haiyan is the first Chinese ambassador to Singapore who was not a member of the Foreign Ministry of China?
... that S. Iswaran was the first Singaporean cabinet minister to be investigated by the country's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau since 1986?
... that Chinese Garden MRT station did not originally have access to the Chinese Garden?
... that badminton in Singapore began in the early 19th century?
... that Ngiam Tong Dow negotiated Singapore's first and largest purchase of gold from South Africa in 1968 by comparing two halves of a United States one-dollar bill?
... that eight cardboard white elephants were put up as a form of public protest to lobby for the opening of Buangkok MRT station in Singapore?

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In this month

8 December 1941: The first air raid by the Japanese at 04:15, marking the start of the Battle of Singapore.
11–13 December 1950: The Maria Hertogh riots breaks out, killing 18 people.
19 December 1997: Silkair Flight 185 crashes, killing all 185 passengers aboard.
22 December 1965: Singapore becomes a republic after the Constitutional Amendment Act is passed.
27 December 2001: Singapore experiences its first typhoon, Tropical Storm Vamei.

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...that the Singapore Government has introduced the "Punggol 21-plus" plan to re-vitalise Punggol New Town (pictured), after an unsuccessful attempt in the late 1990s?

... that Catherine Lim's 1994 essay The PAP and the people - A Great Affective Divide invoked such a strong response from the Singapore government, its then-PM Goh Chok Tong outlined which topics were permissible for public discussion?

... that Tang Choon Keng, who established Tangs and built the former Dynasty Hotel, was also known as the "Tin Trunk Man" in Singapore for his rags to riches legacy?

... that four Japanese War Memorials found in the Japanese Cemetery Park were built without knowledge of the British colonial government of Singapore?

... that the Former Singapore Badminton Hall was marked as a historical site by Singapore's National Heritage Board in 1999, as it held two Thomas Cup tournaments and was the vote counting station for a landmark 1962 referendum?

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Selected panorama

Credit: Sengkang (18 August 2007)

Tanjong Chek Jawa (or Tanjung Chek Jawa or simply Chek Jawa; Chinese: 仄爪哇) is a cape and the name of its 100-hectare wetlands located on the south-eastern tip of Pulau Ubin, an island off the north-eastern coast of the main island of Singapore.

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