Country
Belgium Singapore
Leader
Population
10,444,268 5,460,302
Life Expectancy
79.780 years 84.070 years
Capital City
Brussels Singapore
Largest city
Brussels (population: 1,019,020) Singapore (population: 3,547,810)
Human Development Index
0.948 0.918 GDP per capita $38,100 US $60,900 US
Literacy Rate
99% 92.5%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3 9.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
36.2% 24.5% Wealthiest Citizens Albert Frere ($2.4bn US) Ng Teng Fong & family ($5.5bn US) Unemployment Rate 7.600% 2.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished Legal
Political System
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy parliamentary republic
Independence date
4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne) 9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation) Religions Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25% Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census) Languages Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census) Exports machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, mineral fuels External Debt $1,399,000,000,000 $ $24,640,000,000 US Exchange Rate euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6802 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004) Singapore dollars (SGD) per US dollar - 1.415 (2008 est.), 1.507 (2007), 1.5889 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004) Military Budget as percentage of GDP 1.300% 3.600% Beijing Olympics Medal Count 2 1 Location Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia Area 30,528 km sq 697 km sq Coastline 67 km 193 km Climate temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy 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
