Singapore

republic within CommonwealthIndependence 9 August 1965 (from Malaysia)

Singapore as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalSingapore

Area632.6 km2

Populationas each edition published it

2.72 million July 1990 · 6.08m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.19% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 34.5 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 75.75 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2 children per woman 1990 · 1.18 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

8 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 1.5 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $16,500 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 5.8% in 1993

Geography

12 fields

Land useshare of 632.6 km2

arable land 4%permanent crops 7%meadows and pastures 0%forest and woodland 5%other 84%

Total area

632.6km2

land area: 622.6 km2Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline

193km

land boundaries: noneTerritorial sea: 3 nm

Climate

tropical;
hot, humid, rainy;
no pronounced rainy or dry seasons;
thunderstorms occur on 40% of all days (67% of days in April)

Terrain

lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve

Note

focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes

People

14 fields

Population

2,720,915

(July 1990), growth rate 1.3% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

18Death

5Net migration

Ethnic divisions

Chinese 76.4%Malay 14.9%Indian 6.4%other 2.3%

Literacy

86.8%

(1987)

Nationality

noun--Singaporean(s), adjective--Singapore

Religion

majority of Chinese are Buddhists or atheists; Malays nearly all Muslim (minorities include Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Taoists, Confucianists)

Language

Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and English (official); Malay (national)

Labor force

1,280,000; 34.4% industry, 1.2% agriculture, 61.7% services (1988)

Government

Republic within Commonwealth

17 fields

Parliament, 81 seats, elected 3 September 1988one dot, one seat

PAP 80SDP 1

Percent of vote

PAP 61.8%WP 18.4%SDP 11.5%NSP 3.7%UPF 1.3%others 3.3%

Constitution

3 June 1959, amended 1965; based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution

Legal system

based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Executive branch

president, prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, Cabinet

Judicial branch

Supreme Court Chief of State--President WEE Kim Wee (since 3 September 1985);
Head of Government--Prime Minister LEE Kuan Yew (since 5 June 1959);
First Deputy Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 2 January 1985);
Second Deputy Prime Minister ONG Teng Cheong (since 2 January 1985)

Political parties and leaders

government--People's Action Party (PAP), Lee Kuan Yew;
opposition--Workers' Party (WP), J. B. Jeyaretnam;
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Chiam See Tong;
National Solidarity Party (NSP), Soon Kia Seng;
United People's Front (UPF), Harbans Singh;
Barisan Sosialis (BS);
Communist party illegal

Suffrage

universal and compulsory at age 20 President--last held 31 August 1989 (next to be held NA August 1993);
results--President Wee Kim Wee was reelected by Parliament without opposition;
Parliament--last held 3 September 1988 (next to be held NA September 1993);
results--PAP 61.8%, WP 18.4%, SDP 11.5%, NSP 3.7%, UPF 1.3%, others 3.3%;
seats--(81 total) PAP 80, SDP 1;
note--BS has 1 nonvoting seat

Communists

200-500; Barisan Sosialis infiltrated by Communists

Member of

ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Tommy KOH Tong Bee;
Chancery at 1824 R Street NW, Washington DC 20009;
telephone (202) 667-7555;
US--Ambassador Robert D. ORR;
Embassy at 30 Hill Street, Singapore 0617 (mailing address is FPO San Francisco 96699);
telephone [65] 338-0251

Flag

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white;
near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle

Economy

Singapore has an open entrepreneurial economy with strong service and manufacturing sectors and excellent international trading links derived from its entrepot history.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$27.5billion

per capita $10,300; real growth rate 9.2% (1989 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

3.5%

(1989 est.)

Unemployment rate

(1989 est.)

External debt

$5.2billion

(December 1988)

Budget

Revenues

$6.6 billionExpenditures

$5.9 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (FY88)

Singapore has an open entrepreneurial economy with strong service and manufacturing sectors and excellent international trading links derived from its entrepot history. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the economy expanded rapidly, achieving an average annual growth rate of 9%. Per capita GDP is among the highest in Asia.

In 1985 the economy registered its first drop in 20 years and achieved less than a 2% increase in 1986. Recovery was strong. Estimates for 1989 suggest a 9.2% growth rate based on rising demand for Singapore's products in OECD countries, a strong Japanese yen, and improved competitiveness of domestic manufactures.

Exports

$46 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--includes transshipments to Malaysia--petroleum products, rubber, electronics, manufactured goods;
partners--US 24%, Malaysia 14%, Japan 9%, Thailand 6%, Hong Kong 5%, Australia 3%, FRG 3%

Imports

$53 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities--includes transshipments from Malaysia--capital equipment, petroleum, chemicals, manufactured goods, foodstuffs;
partners--Japan 22%, US 16%, Malaysia 15%, EC 12%, Kuwait 1%

Industrial production

growth rate 9% (1989 est.)

Electricity

4,000,000 kW capacity; 12,000 million kWh produced, 4,490 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

petroleum refining, electronics, oil drilling equipment, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, entrepot trade, financial services, biotechnology

Agriculture

occupies a position of minor importance in the economy;
self-sufficient in poultry and eggs;
must import much of other food;
major crops--rubber, copra, fruit, vegetables

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-83), $590 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $882 million

Currency

Singapore dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Singapore dollar (S$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates

Singapore dollars per US$1--1.8895 (January 1990), 1.9503 (1989), 2.0124 (1988), 2.1060 (1987), 2.1774 (1986), 2.2002 (1985)

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

Communications

7 fields

Merchant marine, 407 ships by type

cargo 126container 52roll-on/roll-off cargo 5refrigerated cargo 11vehicle carrier 13livestock carrier 1petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 103chemical tanker 5combination ore/oil 4specialized tanker 1liquefied gas 15bulk 68combination bulk; note--many Singapore flag ships are foreign owned 3407 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,286,824 GRT/11,921,610 DWT

Airports, 6 total, 6 usable

permanent-surface runways

6runways over 3,659 m

2runways 2,440-3,659 m

2runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

2,597 (1984)Railroads

good domestic facilities;
good international service;
good radio and television broadcast coverage;
1,110,000 telephones;
stations--13 AM, 4 FM, 2 TV;
submarine cables extend to Malaysia (Sabah and peninsular Malaysia), Indonesia, and the Philippines;
satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT