Post date: Oct 22, 2012 3:50:5 AM
Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819.
It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent.
Singapore subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international
trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP
equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
Singapore is located in the Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia.
Total area : 697 sq km
Land : 687 sq km
Water : 10 sq 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
Government Type:
Parliamentary Republic
Ethnic Groups:
Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census)
Languages:
Mandarin (official) 35%, English (official) 23%, Malay (official) 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%,
Teochew 4.9%, Tamil (official) 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
Population:
5,353,494 (July 2012 est.)