President: Tony Tan Prime minister: Lee Hsien Loong
Population
21,032
5,353,494
Life Expectancy
72.060 years
83.750 years
Capital City
Singapore
Largest city
Meyungs (population: 1,275)
Singapore (population: 3,547,810)
Human Development Index
0
0.918
GDP per capita
$60,500 US
Literacy Rate
92%
92.5%
Corruption Perception Index
NA
9.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
0%
24.5%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Ng Teng Fong & family ($5.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
2.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 1 October 1994
parliamentary republic
Independence date
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
Religions
Roman Catholic 41.6%, Protestant 23.3%, Modekngei 8.8% (indigenous to Palau), Seventh-Day Adventist 5.3%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, Latter-Day Saints 0.6%, other 3.1%, unspecified or none 16.4% (2000 census)
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
Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census)
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 (including electronics), consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, mineral fuels
External Debt
$23,580,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
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
4.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Area
459 km sq
697 km sq
Coastline
1,519 km
193 km
Climate
tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November
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
