Singapore

Singapore is an island state in Southeast Asia and consists of one 30-mile-long main island (Pulau Ujong) surrounded by more than 60 smaller ones. It is separated from Peninsular Malaysia by the Straits of Johor and from the Indonesian islands by the Straits of Singapore. The original name of the main island, Tumasik, was taken from the word tasek, which means “sea”. For centuries, Tumasik was a stopping place for sailors traveling between India and China. Its strategic position at the extreme south edge of the Malay Peninsula made Singapore the largest port in Southeast Asia. Singapore’s total land area is 709 km² -—
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—-. Most of Singapore is flat, with more than half of the main island only 15 meters above sea level. Timah Hill, the highest summit, has an elevation of 162 m; with other peaks, such as Panjang and Mandai hills, it forms a block of rugged terrain in the middle of the island. Soils of Singapore, in particular its Eastern part, have suffered extensive degradation through erosion and are extremely infertile.

In Singapore, there are more than 300 parks and 4 nature reserves. There are also many trees planted, and almost fifty per cent of the country is covered by greenery. Because of this, Singapore is also commonly known as the 'Garden City'. The Singapore ‘Botanic Gardens’ was successfully inscribed as Singapore's first UNESCO World Heritage Site on 4 July 2015. -—
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Singapore enjoys a moderate climate characterized by uniform temperatures. The average monthly temperatures range from 26 to 28 °C, based on climate records since 1929. It enjoys a tropical, equatorial climate, with high humidity and abundant rainfall. Two distinct seasons can be identified, a dry season from June to September, and a rainy season from November to February -—
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—-. Although the heaviest rain occurs from November through February, Singapore residents experience rainfall almost every day, including thunderstorms on 40 per cent of all days. The annual average rainfall for the country is more than 2 254 mm.

Singapore is vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, such as rising sea levels, intense rainfall, dry spells and other extreme weather events. Being close to sea level, some low-lying areas of Singapore are particularly at risk due to significant floods during periods of excessive rain.

In 2020, Singapore’s total population, is estimated to be 5.85 million -—
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—-. It has more than doubled since 1980, making the country one of the most populated SIDS in the world. However, high education rate, high income, and high life expectancy (83.6 years) help the country consistently rank very high for human development. In the -—
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—- Human Capital Index, Singapore ranks as the best country in the world (with a score of 0.88). This means that a child born today in Singapore can expect to realize by the age of 18 88 per cent of their maximum productivity, if enjoying complete education and full health. Indeed, investment in education is very high, with government spending doubled from S$6 billion in 2006 to S$12 billion in 2019, in local currency -—
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—-. In addition, the country is ranked among the world’s most competitive economies as it offers a well-established financial business framework.

Since 1963, in few decades, Singapore rapidly upgraded from a low-income country to a high-income country with a GNI of US$58 187 per capita in 2019. The economy of Singapore is characterized by diversified economic structure based on business, finance, manufacturing, trade and transportation activities. Industry (26 per cent of GDP) and services (74 per cent of GDP) were key sectors in 2019. In 2019, Singapore’s goods and services exports amounted to US$595.6 billion, almost twice the GDP of Singapore (US$370 billion). A large proportion of goods’ exports consist of manufactured goods, such as electronic products, chemical, machinery and transport equipment. The country's service exports concentrate on transport and other services including construction, insurance and pension services, financial services, telecommunications and information services. The largest export partners are China, China Hong Kong, SAR, Malaysia and United States of America -—
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—-. The country’s strategic port is the busiest port in the world in terms of tons and container traffic (323 thousand DWT and 38 million TEU in 2019).

One of the major industries in the country is the tourism sector. In 2005 there were 8.9 million tourist visitors in the country. In 2019, the country achieved more than 19 million visitor arrivals -—
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—-. According to the government agency of Singapore -—
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—-, service sector accounts for more than 75 per cent of employment, 12 per cent manufacturing and 11 per cent construction. Singapore ranked as the smartest city in 2018 owing to its smart housing and utilities, digital economy and open adaptive learning -—
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While the majority of the population are Chinese, there are also large populations of Malay, Indians, Arabs, Eurasians and Westerners. This multicultural environment ensures that, throughout the year, celebrations bring visual feast of colour, spectacles and ceremonies. Some of the well celebrated festivals of the country include the Festival of Lights (Deepvali), Buddhist celebration of Vesak Day, Chinese New Year and Christmas.

In Singapore, food is viewed as important to its national. Singapore serves up a wide array of dishes with origins from around the world. Rojak, for instance, is a salad-like dish that is served differently by various ethnicities. Indian rojak consists of squid, battered prawns and bean curd, deep-fried with vegetables on the side. In Malay rojak, fermented soybeans called tempeh are added to the mix. For the Chinese, cucumber, pineapple and dough fritters are drenched in a sweet sauce. Popular dishes include a crispy flatbread with fish curry called roti prata, and bak kut teh, pork ribs served in a peppery broth.

Singapore’s literature reflects the multicultural society and writers such as Tan Swie Hian and Kup Pao Kun have made a significant contribution to local literature. The Pulse is the first published Singapore poetry collection written by Wang Gungwu in 1950.

Football, basketball, swimming, gymnastics and volleyball are among popular sports in the country. Water sports, such as water-skiing and kayaking are also very popular. The national football team was the Tiger Cup champion for a few years. It is the top football competition in Southeast Asia. Singapore has won a handful of Olympic Games medals, including their first Olympic gold medal in 2016, won by swimmer Joseph Schooling in men's 100 m butterfly.