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Singapore Information

Singapore is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, virtually at the entrance to the pirate-infested Straits of Malacca - then as well as today. It lies 137 kilometers (85 miles) north of the Equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 704 km² (272 square miles), it is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia. From its establishment as a trading post in 1819 by Thomas Stamford Raffles of the English East India Company, it has developed rapidly into one of the busiest commercial and naval hub of Southeast Asia.
When Singapura as it was then called was signed over to the English East India Company in February 1819 it contained a fishing village sparsely populated by indigenous Malays and Orang Laut at the mouth of the Singapore River. As envisaged by its founder, Stamford Raffles, the port's strategic situation ensured its success. It replaced Penang and Malacca as the trading port of the region within two years - and has not looked back since. The British governors of Malaya were housed in Singapore, making periodic inspection trips in their gunboats up and down the western coast of the Malay Peninsula. After the Japanese occupation during World War II, it reverted to British rule in 1945 and was later part of the merger which established Malaysia in 1963. Two years later it left the federation and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965 when the Premier of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, quarrelled with the Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman. The new republic was admitted to the United Nations on September 21 that same year.

Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has risen dramatically. Foreign investment and government-led island-wide industrialization have created a modern economy based on electronics and manufacturing, featuring entrepôt and financial trade revolving around the country's strategic location. In terms of GDP per capita, Singapore is the 18th wealthiest country in the world. The geographically small nation has a foreign reserve of S$212 billion (US$139 billion).The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the city-state's political system as a representative democracy, while the country is recognized as a parliamentary republic. The People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won control of Parliament in every election since self-government in 1959.


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Historical Background
The history of Singapore began as early as the 3rd century when a Chinese account described the island at the tip of the Malay peninsula. It was then known as Temasek. Singapore rose in importance during the 14th century under the rule of Srivijayan prince Parameswara and became an important port until Parameswara founded Malacca farther up the Straits of Malacca, and abandoned Temasek which reverted to an unimportant village. It was destroyed by Portuguese invaders in 1613. The modern history of Singapore began in 1819 when Stamford Raffles sought out the ineffective ruler residing in Riau under Dutch control and recognized him as Sultan of Singapore and paying him a stipend for giving Singapore to the East India Company. Raffles established a British port on the island to attract the maritime commerce of Southeast Asia and as far as China, Japan and India. Under British colonial rule, it grew in importance as a centre for both the India-China trade and the entrepôt trade in Southeast Asia, rapidly becoming a major port-city. When the Straits Settlements were formed in 1826, Singapore became the centre of government.
During World War II, Singapore was conquered and occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945, and with it fell Malaya. When the war ended, Singapore reverted to British control, with increasing levels of self-government being granted, culminating in Singapore's merger with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963. However, social unrest and disputes between Singapore's ruling People's Action Party and Malaysia's Alliance Party resulted in Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia. Singapore became an independent republic on 9 August 1965.

Facing severe unemployment and a housing crisis, Singapore embarked on a modernization programme that focused on establishing a manufacturing industry, developing large public housing estates and investing heavily on public education. Since independence, Singapore's economy has grown by an average of nine per cent each year. By the 1990s, the country has become one of the world's most prosperous nations, with a highly-developed free market economy, strong international trading links, and the highest per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in Asia outside of Japan.