Republic of Singapore

I

Introduction

Republic of Singapore, independent republic in Southeast Asia, comprising 1 main island and about 50 small adjacent islands off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. The main island, Singapore Island, is separated from Malaysia on the north by the narrow Johore Strait and is linked by road and rail to the Malaysian city of Johor Baharu. On the south, Singapore Island is separated from Indonesia’s Riau Archipelago by the Singapore Strait, an important shipping channel linking the Indian Ocean to the west with the South China Sea on the east.

The Republic of Singapore is considered a city-state because most of the territory of the main island is part of the metropolis of Singapore. The main island is densely populated, especially in its south central portion where the central business district and main port are located. About three-fourths of the people of Singapore, known as Singaporeans, are Chinese, but there are significant Malay and Indian minorities.

Singapore contained just a few fishing settlements and a small trading port when the islands became part of the British colonial empire in the 1820s. Britain developed Singapore into a major international trade center, and the local Malay population soon swelled with immigrants from China and India. Since becoming an independent republic in 1965, multiethnic Singapore has maintained political stability and high economic growth. Singapore is Southeast Asia’s most important seaport, financial center, and manufacturing hub, and its citizens enjoy one of the world’s highest standards of living.

II

Land and Resources

The total area of Singapore, including the main island and all the islets, is 685.4 sq km 264.6 sq mi). The larger islets, which all have small fishing villages, include Tekong, Ubin, and Sentosa. Singapore Island is low-lying with no prominent relief features. A central area of hills rises to a maximum elevation of 176 m (577 ft) at Bukit Timah. Numerous short streams, including the Singapore River, drain the island. Soils are relatively infertile, and clays and sand are the only mineral resources.

---

---

Because Singapore lies just north of the equator, the wet tropical climate has no clearly defined seasons. The average annual temperature is 27°C (81°F) and the average annual rainfall is 2,400 mm (95 in). Although rainfall is abundant throughout the year, November through January are the wettest months.

More than 85 percent of Singapore Island is built up for residential, commercial, and industrial use. Jungles and swamps once covered the island, but today only a small area of the central hills retains its natural jungle cover. One of the island’s largest remaining tracts of undisturbed rain forest is protected in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. This reserve, which includes the country’s highest point, Bukit Timah, covers an area of 164 hectares (405 acres). Since the early 1960s, land reclamation projects have been replacing Singapore’s once expansive coastal mangrove forests with developed areas. One example is Jurong, an industrial complex that lies on reclaimed land to the west of Singapore’s central business district. Coral reefs fringing the main island and offshore islands have also been lost to land reclamation in some areas. The reclamation projects have added about 17 percent of new land to the nation’s total area.

Many of Singapore’s wild animal species are endangered due to loss of habitat. The leopard, banded leaf monkey, slow loris, and giant squirrel were once common in the rain forests but are now nearly extinct. Animals that remain common include the macaque, colugo (also known as flying lemur), wild pig, and palm civet. Many types of reptiles and amphibians inhabit the islands. Birds are numerous and varied in Singapore. The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on the northwest coast of Singapore Island provides an important habitat for migratory birds.

Although Singapore has numerous short streams and several reservoirs, the country lacks sufficient fresh water. About half its water must be imported from Malaysia through an aqueduct that runs under the causeway linking Singapore and Johor Baharu. Rapid economic and industrial growth and the rapid rise in vehicle ownership have increased air and water pollution. Closely regulated government controls on emissions, effluents, and other wastes have done much to alleviate these problems, however.

III

The People of Singapore

At the time of the 1990 census, Singapore had a population of 2,705,115; by the 2000 census, the population had grown to 4,017,733. The 2007 population estimate was 4,553,009. Immigration is highly restricted, so the natural population increase, which measures births and deaths, is an important indicator of the country’s future population growth. Singapore’s natural population increase is 0.5 percent annually, and this rate is expected to fall as much of the population ages beyond the childbearing years. The government is concerned about the slow growth rate because increasingly fewer working people must support a growing elderly population, straining available resources for health care and other social services. The government provides tax incentives to families that have several children, but the growth rate is still expected to fall because most Singaporeans prefer small families. The overall population density is 6,676 persons per sq km (17,291 per sq mi). Large residential areas with high-rise public housing estates are located throughout the main island, including the districts of Jurong in the southwest, and Geylang and Katong along the east coast.

A

Ethnic Groups, Languages, and Religion

Singapore’s population is ethnically diverse. Chinese constitute about three-fourths of the population. Malays form the next largest group, and Indians the third. The country’s four official languages are Chinese, English, Malay, and Tamil. Chinese is the primary language spoken in the majority of homes. English is the language of administration and business and it is widely spoken as a second language.

Singapore’s principal religions are Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. The majority of Chinese Singaporeans follow Buddhism, although Daoism (Taoism), and more recently Christianity, are also popular. Malay Singaporeans are predominantly Muslim, while more than half the Indian Singaporeans profess Hinduism.

	More from Encarta
	•  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain