United Kingdom
Singapore Travel and Destination Guide
BACKGROUND INFO
Full Name
Republic of Singapore
Capital City
Singapore
Area
683 sq km
Population
4,430,000
Time Zone
GMT/UTC +8
Daylight Saving Start
not in use
Daylight Saving End
not in use
Weights Measures System
Metric
Geography
Singapore consists of the main, low-lying Singapore Island and 63 smaller islands within its territorial waters. Urban areas comprise almost 50% of the land area, while parkland, reservoirs, plantations and open military areas occupy 40%. Singapore Island measures approximately 42km (26mi) east to west and 23km (14mi) north to south at its widest points. While there are built-up, high-density areas all across the island, the main city area is in the south, built on the banks of the Singapore River. The Central Business District (CBD) is on the southern bank of the river's mouth. Chinatown adjoins the CBD to the southwest. To the north of the Singapore River is the colonial district, with its many reminders of British rule. Further north again is Little India and Arab St. Orchard Rd runs northwest away from the colonial district. To the west of the island is Jurong, an industrial area with a sprinkling of tourist attractions. The east coast has some older residential areas, a major beach park and the international airport. The northeast is the location of huge housing developments, while the northcentral region has most of Singapore's undeveloped land and remaining forest. A 1km (0.6mi) causeway connects Singapore with Johor Bahru in Malaysia; a bridge has opened on the west of the island to relieve congestion. Land reclamation and housing development have dramatically altered Singapore's geography - and look likely to do so long into the future.
Languages
• English (official)
English is widespread. Children are taught English at school but also learn their mother tongue to make sure they don't lose contact with tradition. The only communication problem English-speakers are likely to have in Singapore is with older Singaporeans who did not learn English at school, though trying to understand the unique patois called Singlish - which uses a clipped form of English mixed with Malay and Hokkien words - can be taxing.
• Malay (official)
Mostly restricted to the Malay community.
• Chinese (official)
Chinese dialects, such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese and Hakka, are still widely spoken. The government's long-standing campaign to promote Mandarin has been very successful and increasing numbers of Chinese now speak Mandarin at home.
• Tamil (official)
Tamil is the main Indian language, though Malayalam and Hindi are also spoken.
People
Chinese (77%), Malay (14%), Indian (8%)
Religion
Buddhist (42%), Muslim (15%), Christian (14%), Taoist (9%), Hindu (4%)
Government Type
Parliamentary Republic
Government Leaders
Sellapan Rama Nathan
President (head of state)
Lee Hsien Loong
Prime Minister (head of government)
Country Dialing Code
65
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