President: Tony Tan Prime minister: Lee Hsien Loong
Population
5,353,494
Life Expectancy
83.750 years
Capital City
Singapore
Largest city
Singapore (population: 3,547,810)
(population: )
Human Development Index
0.918
NA
GDP per capita
$60,500 US
Literacy Rate
92.5%
Corruption Perception Index
9.2
NA
Percentage of Women in Parliament
24.5%
NA
Wealthiest Citizens
Ng Teng Fong & family ($5.5bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
2.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
NA
Political System
parliamentary republic
Independence date
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
Religions
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
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 $
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
1
0
Location
Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Area
697 km sq
Coastline
193 km
Climate
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
