Singapore

• 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

• focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes;
• consists of about 60 islands, by far the largest of which is Pulau Ujong;
• land reclamation has removed many former islands and created a number of new ones

noun:

Singaporean(s)

adjective:

Singapore

• 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.)

major-language sample(s):

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English); 世界概況 – 不可缺少的基本消息來源 (Mandarin)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.11 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

total:

1.81 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

1.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.27 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.24 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

16.5% (2020 est.)

male:

28% (2020 est.)

female:

5% (2020 est.)

• water pollution;
• industrial pollution;
• limited natural freshwater resources;
• limited land availability presents waste disposal problems;
• air pollution;
• deforestation;
• seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

particulate matter emissions:

18.26 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

37.54 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

4.4 megatons (2020 est.)

• 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

urban population:

100% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.74% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

7,704,300 tons (2017 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

4,699,623 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

61% (2015 est.)

municipal:

296.73 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

336.294 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

26.376 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Singapore

conventional short form:

Singapore

local long form:

Republic of Singapore

local short form:

Singapore

etymology:

name derives from the Sanskrit words "simha" (lion) and "pura" (city) to describe the city-state's leonine symbol

name:

Singapore

geographic coordinates:

1 17 N, 103 51 E

time difference:

UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

name derives from the Sanskrit words simha (lion) and pura (city), thus creating the city's epithet "lion city"

history:

several previous; latest adopted 22 December 1965

amendments:

• proposed by Parliament;
• passage requires two-thirds majority vote in the second and third readings by the elected Parliament membership and assent of the president of the republic;
• passage of amendments affecting sovereignty or control of the Police Force or the Armed Forces requires at least two-thirds majority vote in a referendum;
• amended many times, last in 2020

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Singapore

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

President HALIMAH Yacob (since 14 September 2017)

head of government:

Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister; Cabinet responsible to Parliament

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a fixed term of 6 years (there are no term limits);
• election last held on 13 September 2017 (next to be held in 2023);
• following legislative elections, leader of majority party or majority coalition appointed prime minister by president;
• deputy prime ministers appointed by the president

election results:

2017 : HALIMAH Yacob was declared president on 13 September 2017, being the only eligible candidate;

• 2011 : Tony TAN Keng Yam elected president;
• percent of vote - Tony TAN Keng Yam (independent) 35.2%, TAN Cheng Bock (independent) 34.9%, TAN Jee Say (independent) 25%, TAN Kin Lian (independent) 4.9%

description:

• unicameral Parliament (104 seats statutory, 103 current term; 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 (2021)

elections:

last held on 10 July 2020 (next must be held by 2025)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - PAP 89.2%, WP 10.6%, other 0.2%;
• seats by party - PAP 83, WP 10;
• composition of total Parliament - men 73, women 30, percent of women 29.1%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court (although the number of judges varies - as of April 2019, the court totaled 20 judges, 7 judicial commissioners, 4 judges of appeal, and 16 international judges);
• the court is organized into an upper tier Appeal Court and a lower tier High Court

judge selection and term of office:

• judges appointed by the president from candidates recommended by the prime minister after consultation with the chief justice;
• judges usually serve until retirement at age 65, but terms can be extended

subordinate courts:

• district, magistrates', juvenile, family, community, and coroners' courts;
• small claims tribunals;
• employment claims tribunals

• Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Mohamad Hamim BIN ALIYA]
• National Solidarity Party or NSP [Spencer NG]
• People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]
• People's Power Party or PPP [Goh Meng SENG]
• People's Voice or PV [Lim TEAN]
• Progress Singapore Party or PSP [Francis YUEN]
• Red Dot United or RDU [Ravi PHILEMON]
• Reform Party or RP [Kenneth JEYARETNAM]
• Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [Desmond LIM]
• Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [Dr. CHEE Soon Juan]
• Singapore Malay National Organisation or PKMS [Muhammad Hairullah AHMAD]
• Singapore People's Party or SPP [Steve CHIA]
• Singapore United Party or SUP [Andy ZHU]
• Workers' Party or WP [Pritam SINGH]

note: the PAP has won every general election since the end of the British colonial era in 1959

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ashok KUMAR Mirpuri (since 30 July 2012)

chancery:

3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 537-3100

FAX:

[1] (202) 537-0876

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.mfa.gov.sg/washington/

consulate(s) general:

San Francisco

consulate(s):

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jonathan KAPLAN (since December 2021)

embassy:

27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508

mailing address:

4280 Singapore Place, Washington DC 20521-4280

telephone:

[65] 6476-9100

FAX:

[65] 6476-9340

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://sg.usembassy.gov/

• 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;
• red denotes brotherhood and equality;
• white signifies purity and virtue;
• the waxing crescent moon symbolizes a young nation on the ascendancy;
• the five stars represent the nation's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality

name:

"Majulah Singapura" (Onward Singapore)

lyrics/music:

ZUBIR Said

note: adopted 1965; first performed in 1958 at the Victoria Theatre, the anthem is sung only in Malay

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Fitch rating:

AAA (2003)

Moody's rating:

Aaa (2002)

Standard & Poors rating: AAA (1995)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

0.7%

industry:

25.6%

services:

73.7% (2017)

note: excludes non-residents

total:

7.5%

male:

5%

female:

10.2% (2021 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.6%

highest 10%:

27.5% (2017)

production:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

423,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

1,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

424,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

0 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

1.448 million bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

13,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

1,121,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

0 barrels (2021 est.)

production:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

consumption:

13,396,282,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

550.818 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

imports:

14,727,709,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

• state controls broadcast media;
• 6 domestic TV stations operated by MediaCorp which is wholly owned by a state investment company;
• broadcasts from Malaysian and Indonesian stations available;
• satellite dishes banned;
• multi-channel cable TV services available;
• a total of 19 domestic radio stations broadcasting, with MediaCorp operating 11, Singapore Press Holdings, also government-linked, another 5, 2 controlled by the Singapore Armed Forces Reservists Association and one owned by BBC Radio;
• Malaysian and Indonesian radio stations are available as is BBC;
• a number of Internet service radio stations are also available (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

4 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 230

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

40,401,515 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

5,194,900,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

3,500 km (2017)

paved:

3,500 km (2017) (includes 164 km of expressways)

major seaport(s):

Singapore

container port(s) (TEUs):

Singapore (37,195,636) (2019)

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Singapore

• the SAF has a diverse and largely modern mix of domestically-produced and imported weapons;
• since 2010, the US has been the chief supplier of arms;
• other significant suppliers include
  • France,
  • Germany,
  • Israel,
  • and Sweden
  ;
• Singapore has the most developed arms industry in Southeast Asia and is also its largest importer of weapons (2021)

• the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the South China Sea as high risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships;
• numerous commercial vessels have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway;
• hijacked vessels are often disguised and cargo diverted to ports in East Asia;
• crews have been murdered or cast adrift;
• the Singapore Straits saw 35 attacks against commercial vessels in 2021, a 50% increase over 2020 and the highest number of incidents reported since 1992;
• vessels were boarded in 33 of the 35 incidents, one crew was injured, another assaulted and two threatened during these incidents

• drug abuse limited because of aggressive law enforcement efforts, including carrying out death sentences;
• as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, as a venue for money laundering