President: Tony Tan Prime minister: Lee Hsien Loong
President: Michael D Higgins
Population
5,353,494
4,722,028
Life Expectancy
83.750 years
80.320 years
Capital City
Singapore
Dublin
Largest city
Singapore (population: 3,547,810)
Dublin (population: 1,024,030)
Human Development Index
0.918
0.96
GDP per capita
$60,500 US
$40,100 US
Literacy Rate
92.5%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
9.2
7.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
24.5%
15.5%
Wealthiest Citizens
Ng Teng Fong & family ($5.5bn US)
Pallonji Mistry ($2.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
2.000%
14.400%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary republic
republic, parliamentary democracy
Independence date
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty)
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)
Roman Catholic 87.4%, Church of Ireland 2.9%, other Christian 1.9%, other 2.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.2% (2006 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)
English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard
Exports
machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, mineral fuels
machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products
External Debt
$23,580,000,000 $
$2,352,000,000,000 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)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.900%
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
3
Location
Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain
Area
697 km sq
70,273 km sq
Coastline
193 km
1,448 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
temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time
