Introduction
Background
A Malay trading port known as Temasek existed on the island of Singapore by the 14th century. The settlement changed hands several times and was eventually burned in the 17th century. In 1819, the British founded modern Singapore as a trading colony on the same site. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but was ousted two years later and became independent.
Geography
Area
total : 719 sq km
land: 709.2 sq km
water: 10 sq km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - northeastern monsoon (December to March) and southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
Natural resources
fish, deepwater ports
People and Society
Population
total: 6,028,459
Ethnic groups
Chinese 74.2%, Malay 13.7%, Indian 8.9%, other 3.2% (2021 est.)
Languages
English (official) 48.3%, Mandarin (official) 29.9%, other Chinese dialects (includes Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka) 8.7%, Malay (official) 9.2%, Tamil (official) 2.5%, other 1.4%; note - data represent language most frequently spoken at home (2020 est.)
Religions
Buddhist 31.1%, Christian 18.9%, Muslim 15.6%, Taoist 8.8%, Hindu 5%, other 0.6%, none 20% (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
0.87% (2024 est.)
Government
Government type
parliamentary republic
Capital
name: Singapore
Executive branch
chief of state: President THARMAN Shanmugaratnam (since 14 September 2023)
head of government: Prime Minister Lawrence WONG (since 15 May 2024)
Legislative branch
description: unicameral Parliament (104 seats statutory; 93 members directly elected by simple majority popular vote, up to 9 nominated by a parliamentary selection committee and appointed by the president, and up to 12 non-constituency members from opposition parties to ensure political diversity; members serve 5-year terms); note - the number of nominated members increased to 12 for the 2020 election for the first time
Economy
Economic overview
high-income, service-based Southeast Asian economy; renowned for financial markets and Asian Infrastructure Exchange; business-driven regulations; low unemployment; electronics, oil, and chemicals exporter; continuing education investment
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$754.758 billion (2023 est.)
$746.73 billion (2022 est.)
$719.13 billion (2021 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$127,500 (2023 est.)
$132,500 (2022 est.)
$131,900 (2021 est.)
Agricultural products
chicken, eggs, pork, vegetables, duck, spinach, pork offal, pork fat, cabbages, lettuce (2022)
Industries
electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, biomedical products, scientific instruments, telecommunication equipment, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, entrepot trade
Exports
$873.989 billion (2023 est.)
$925.952 billion (2022 est.)
$794.47 billion (2021 est.)
Exports - partners
Hong Kong 14%, China 13%, Malaysia 9%, US 8%, Indonesia 6% (2022)
Exports - commodities
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, machinery, gold, gas turbines (2022)
Imports
$686.656 billion (2023 est.)
$733.876 billion (2022 est.)
$637.165 billion (2021 est.)
Imports - partners
China 17%, Malaysia 13%, US 10%, Taiwan 9%, South Korea 5% (2022)
Imports - commodities
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, gold, machinery (2022)
Exchange rates
Singapore dollars (SGD) per US dollar -
Page last updated: Wednesday, July 24, 2024
