Singapore

Letter from [[William Farquhar Singapore, }} officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is located about one degree of latitude () 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. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by approximately 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the second 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 its 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'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, the colonies in Southeast Asia were reorganised, and 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, most notably the perceived encroachment of the egalitarian "Malaysian Malaysia" political ideology led by Lee Kuan Yew into the other constituent entities of Malaysia—at the perceived expense of the ''bumiputera'' and the policies of ''Ketuanan Melayu''—eventually 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. With its growth based on international trade and economic globalisation, it integrated itself with the world economy through free trade with minimal-to-no trade barriers or tariffs, export-oriented industrialisation, and the large accumulation of received foreign direct investments, foreign exchange reserves, and assets held by sovereign wealth funds. As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the world. 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. Singapore is a unitary 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 dominance over politics and society without much electoral competition. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, and currently holds a supermajority with 79 out of 93 elected seats 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. Provided by Wikipedia
Showing 121 - 140 results of 1,097 for search 'Singapore', query time: 0.36s Refine Results
  1. 121
    Published 1982
    [Singapore] : ESS, [1982]
    1 portfolio ; 31 cm.
    ...Economic Society of Singapore...
  2. 122
    [Singapore] Ministry of Finance, Republic of Singapore.
    v. 25 cm.
    ...Singapore. Ministry of Finance...
  3. 123
    Published 1980
    Singapore : Dept. of Statistics, [1980]
    iii, 72 p. ; 30 cm.
    ...Singapore. Dept. of Statistics...
  4. 124
    Published 1974
    [Singapore] : TAS, [1974?]
    [20] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
    ...Telecommunication Authority of Singapore...
  5. 125
    Published 1976
    [Singapore] : Ministry of Labour, [1976?]
    24, 23, 21 p. ; 22 cm.
    ...Singapore. Ministry of Labour...
  6. 126
    Published 1971
    [Singapore, 1971 or 2]
    30 p. col. illus. 24 cm.
    ...Port of Singapore Authority...
  7. 127
    Published 1974
    [Singapore] : Ministry of Labour, [1974?]
    18 p. ; 30 cm.
    ...Singapore. Ministry of Labour...
  8. 128
    by Fatimi, Sayyid Qudratullah
    Published 1961
    1961.
    1 microfilm reel ; 35mm.
    ...University of Malaya (Singapore)...
  9. 129
    Published 1999
    [Singapore : Govt. Print. Off., 1999-
    v. : col. ill. ; 30 cm.
    Also available on the World Wide Web.
    ...Singapore. Ministry of Manpower...
  10. 130
    Published 1979
    Singapore : Dept. of Statistics, 1979.
    33 p. ; 30 cm.
    ...Singapore. Dept. of Statistics...
  11. 131
    Published 1977
    Singapore : Jiao yu chu ban she, 1977.
    100 p. ; 22 cm.
    ...Singapore. Ministry of Culture...
  12. 132
    by Cheung, Paul
    Published 1994
    Singapore : Dept. of Statistics, 1994.
    vii, 161 p. ; 25 cm.
    ...Singapore. Dept. of Statistics...
  13. 133
    Published 1973
    [Singapore, Printed by the Govt. Print. Off., 1973]
    1 v. (unpaged) illus. (part col.) 22 x 28 cm.
    ...Radio-Television Singapore...
  14. 134
    Singapore : Economics Dept., Monetary Authority of Singapore, -1980.
    5 v. ; 30 cm.
    ...Monetary Authority of Singapore...
  15. 135
    by Geok, Leow Bee
    Published 2001
    Singapore : Dept. of Statistics, Ministry of Trade & Industry, 2001.
    ix, 129 p. : ill. ; 30 cm.
    ...Singapore. Dept. of Statistics...
  16. 136
    Published 1980
    Singapore : Dept. of Statistics, [1980]
    iii, 152 p. ; 30 cm.
    ...Singapore. Dept. of Statistics...
  17. 137
    Published 1994
    Singapore : The Centre, 1994-
    v. : ill. ; 30 cm.
    ...Singapore Professional Centre...
  18. 138
    Published 1979
    [Singapore : Monetary Authority of Singapore?, 1979]
    1 v. (loose-leaf) ; 23 cm.
    ...Monetary Authority of Singapore...
  19. 139
    Published 1973
    [Singapore, 1973]
    39, [9], xxxviv (i.e. xxxix) l. 33 cm.
    ...Stock Exchange of Singapore...
  20. 140
    Singapore, Chief Statistician, Dept. of Statistics.
    35 v. ill. 19-26 cm.
    ...Singapore. Dept. of Statistics...

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