Singapore Overview
Due to its favorable location in the center of Southeast Asian nations, Singapore is the focal point of the Asian region. It serves both the scientific and the market economy branch and offers a platform for international research institutes.
Population / geography
| Country name | Republic of SingaporeRepublic of Singapore |
| Capital | Singapore (city-state) |
| Land area | 718 km²(Land reclamation measures since the 1960s have increased the land area by more than 20%) |
| Population | 5,995,991(2018 estimate) |
| Life expectancy | Men: 82.8 yearsWomen: 88.3 years
(2018 estimate) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 12.77%15-64 years: 77.19%
65 years and older: 10.03% (2018 estimate) |
| Growth of population | 1.79%(2018 estimate) |
| Population groups | Chinese 74.3%Malays 13.4%
Indian 9% Others 3.2% (2018 estimate) |
| Languages | English (communication, business and administrative language)Chinese (Mandarin)
Malay (national language) Tamil |
| Religions | 33.2% Buddhism18.8% Christianity
14% Islam 10% Taoism 5% Hinduism 0.6% others 18.5% without religion (2015 estimate) |
| National day | August 9th (Singapore gained independence on August 9th, 1965 after leaving the Malaysian Federation) |
| Time zone | CET + 7 (UTC + 8)No summer / winter time change in Singapore |
| Currency | 1 Singapore dollar SGD / 100 centsCurrent exchange rate at OANDA.com – Currency converter (see links below) |
Sources: Countryaah.com
Politics / Administration
| Country name | Republic of SingaporeRepublic of Singapore |
| Capital | Singapore (city-state) |
| Form of government | Parliamentary democracy |
| Head of state | Halimah Yacob (President)since September 14, 2017 |
| Head of government | Lee Hsien Loong (Prime Minister)since August 12, 2004 |
| Foreign Minister | Vivian Balakrishnansince October 1, 2015 |
| Minister for Education | Lawrence Wongsince July 27, 2020 |
| Houses of Parliament | One-chamber system, currently 88 elected MPs(As of June 2019) |
| Ruling parties | People’s Action Party (PAP) |
| Opposition parties | A number of small, moderate parties, notably the Workers’ Party (WP), the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP). Currently only 6 out of 88 elected members of parliament belong to opposition parties (all workers’ parties). |
| Administrative structure | 5 districts |
Political system
Houses of Parliament
Singapore is a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral system. The last parliamentary elections took place on September 11, 2015 and confirmed the unbroken dominance of the People’s Action Party (PAP) with 69.9% of the vote. 83 of the voting seats went to the PAP and 6 seats to the opposition Worker’s Party (WP). The Singaporean parliament regularly has 101 seats, of which only 100 are currently occupied, as Halimah Yacob resigned as a member of the PAP in 2017 to take up her post as president. The current 13th parliament consists of 88 elected representatives, 9 non-voting nominees (“ Nominated Members of Parliament” / NMP)) and 3 defeated opposition candidates as non-constituency members of Parliament (NCMP) (as of June 2019). Pure majority voting limits the opposition’s chances of receiving mandates. The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2020.
Government
Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has developed into a cosmopolitan service and industrial society with a solid middle class and a comparatively broad upper class. It is on the way to becoming a knowledge-based economy and a high-tech location. In August 2015, Singapore celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence.
The third prime minister in the history of Singapore has been in office since August 2004: Lee Hsien Loong, son of state founder Lee Kuan Yew. Halimah Yacob has been President of the Republic since September 2017.
The most important principles of government work are still:
- Maintaining and expanding economic competitiveness;
- Harmony between the different ethnic groups and religions;
- tightly run government, highly qualified, very well paid and therefore not susceptible to corruption administrative apparatus;
- Combating all forms of crime, in particular terrorism, corruption and drug abuse;
- high standard of living for the population with a relatively high unequal distribution of income and wealth.
For a long time, the government had an active immigration policy geared towards a highly skilled workforce. In 2015, of the approx. 5.5 million residents of Singapore, approx. 2.1 million were foreigners, of which approx. 0.53 million were so-called ” permanent residents “. In the meantime, however, the government has taken measures to slow down immigration.
