President: Tony Tan Prime minister: Lee Hsien Loong
Population
7,590,758
5,353,494
Life Expectancy
81.070 years
83.750 years
Capital City
Jerusalem
Singapore
Largest city
Jerusalem (population: 714,000)
Singapore (population: 3,547,810)
Human Development Index
0.93
0.918
GDP per capita
$31,400 US
$60,500 US
Literacy Rate
97.1%
92.5%
Corruption Perception Index
6
9.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
14.2%
24.5%
Wealthiest Citizens
Sammy Ofer & family ($4.0bn US)
Ng Teng Fong & family ($5.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
5.600%
2.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished except for special circumstances
Legal
Political System
parliamentary democracy
parliamentary republic
Independence date
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
Religions
Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
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
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
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, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, mineral fuels
External Debt
$102,300,000,000 $
$23,580,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.56 (2008 est.), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (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
7.300%
4.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
1
Location
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Area
20,770 km sq
697 km sq
Coastline
273 km
193 km
Climate
temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
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
