Portal:Singapore

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Welcome to the Singapore Portal

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by approximately 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the third highest population density of any country in the world, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the common language, with exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

Singapore's history dates back at least eight hundred years, having been a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to British control as a separate Crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and, in 1963, became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965.

After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers. With its growth based on international trade and economic globalisation, it integrated itself with the world economy through free trade with minimal trade barriers and tariffs, export-oriented industrialisation, and the large accumulation of received foreign direct investments, foreign exchange reserves, and assets held by sovereign wealth funds. As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the world. Identified as a tax haven, Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers. Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world.

Singapore is a parliamentary republic in the Westminster tradition of unicameral parliamentary government, and its legal system is based on common law. While the country is de jure a multi-party democracy with free elections, the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields widespread control and political dominance. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, and holds a supermajority in Parliament. One of the five founding members of ASEAN, Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council Secretariat, and is the host city of many international conferences and events. Singapore is also a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations. (Full article...)

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The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) who are appointed. Following the 2020 general election, 93 (currently 87) MPs and two NCMPs from three political parties were elected to the 14th Parliament. Throughout the sitting of Parliament, nine NMPs are usually appointed by the president on a biennial basis.

The Speaker of Parliament has overall charge of the administration of Parliament and its secretariat, and presides over parliamentary sittings. The Leader of the House is an MP appointed by the prime minister to arrange government business and the legislative programme of Parliament, while the Leader of the Opposition (LO) is the MP who leads the largest political party not in the government. Some of Parliament's work is carried out by select committees made up of small numbers of MPs. Standing select committees are permanently constituted to fulfil certain duties, and ad hoc select committees are established from time to time to deal with matters such studying the details of bills. In addition, selected backbenchers of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), the current largest political party in Parliament, sit on Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) that examine the policies, programmes and proposed legislation of government ministries. (Full article...)

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Credit: Sengkang (3 December 2005)

The Esplanade Bridge is a 260 metres long road bridge that spans across the mouth of the Singapore River in Singapore with the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay on its northern abutment and the Merlion on the southern. Read more...

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General images

The following are images from various Singapore-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 2Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 3A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 4Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 5The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 6Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 7Engraving of Sir Stamford Raffles by James Thomson
Image 8The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 9Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 10Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 11Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. (from History of Singapore)
Image 12The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 13The Mao Kun map from Wubei Zhi which is based on the early 15th century maps of Zheng He showing Temasek (淡馬錫) at the top left, and Long Ya Men (龍牙門) on the right panel. (from History of Singapore)
Image 14Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 15A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 16Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 171888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 18Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 19The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 20Chinese community in Singapore carrying the Flag of the Republic of China (written Long live the motherland) to celebrate the victory, also reflected the Chinese identity issues at that time. (from History of Singapore)
Image 21Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 22Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 23Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 24Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 25Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 26The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 27Restored shophouses running along a street in Chinatown, which reflects the Victorian architecture of buildings built in Singapore during the earlier colonial period, with styles such as the painted ladies. (from History of Singapore)
Image 28A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 29Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 30Top view of Bukit Batok West. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 31Traffic in Singapore, 1981. Prior to the introduction of the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) in 1990, vehicles per capita in Singapore was the highest in ASEAN. (from History of Singapore)
Image 32Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 33The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 34The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 35St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 36The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 371955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 38Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 39Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 40Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 41A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)

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The smaller of two pieces making up Han's Seeds (2006), at the National Museum of Singapore

Han Sai Por (Chinese: 韓少芙; born 19 July 1943) is a Singaporean sculptor. A graduate of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), East Ham College of Art, Wolverhampton College of Art (now the School of Art and Design of the University of Wolverhampton), and Lincoln University, New Zealand, she worked as a teacher and later as a part-time lecturer at NAFA, the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, and the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, before becoming a full-time artist in 1997.

Han has participated in exhibitions locally and abroad, including events in China, Denmark, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and South Korea. Her first solo exhibition, entitled Four Dimensions, was held at the National Museum Art Gallery in 1993. Her sculptures can be found around the world, in Osaka and Shōdoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, in Japan; Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak in Malaysia; and Washington, D.C. in Singapore, sculptures commissioned from her can be seen at Capital Tower, the Defence Science Organisation National Laboratories, the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, the National Museum of Singapore, Revenue House, Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3, Suntec City Mall, and Woodlands Regional Library. In 2001, Han was the founding President of the Sculpture Society (Singapore) and remains its Honorary President. She was the first artist in residence at the Society's Sculpture Pavilion at Fort Canning Park in 2009, where she worked on sculptures made from the trunks of tembusu trees. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
Ho Yuen Hoe Gan Eng Seng Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo Teresa Hsu Fandi Ahmad Denise Phua Li Jiawei Glenn Knight Laurentia Tan Tao Li Yip Pin Xiu Neila Sathyalingam Walter Woon Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan Xiaxue

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Singaporean zoologist Bernard Harrison was disliked by an orangutan?
... that Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann declined a request from Lee Kuan Yew to help design Singapore?
... that the Hainanese chicken rice at the Singaporean restaurant Chatterbox was developed by a German chef?
... that to reflect the neighbourhood's heritage as a songbird-watching community, Singapore's Mayflower MRT station is decorated with 22 bird sculptures?
... that the United Ukrainian Ballet Company, consisting of exiled dancers based in The Hague, has toured the UK, Singapore, Australia and the US?
... that eight cardboard white elephants were put up as a form of public protest to lobby for the opening of Buangkok MRT station in Singapore?

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In this month

8 August 1967: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was founded with Singapore as one of its founding members.
9 August 1965: Singapore becomes an independent country after its separation from Malaysia.
9 August 2015: The "Singapore50" initiative is launched in Singapore to celebrate 50 years of independence from Malaysia. National Day Parade ceremonies for that year are themed Majulah Singapura - Onward Singapore.
14 August 1945: Japan surrenders, marking the end of the Japanese occupation of Singapore during World War II.

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More did you know - show different entries

... that the architecture of the Singapore Power Building (pictured) was influenced by Gerhad M. Kallmann's Boston City Hall and Le Corbusier's Sainte Marie de La Tourette?

... that Liang Wern Fook, a pioneer of Singapore's xinyao movement, has composed over 200 songs?

... that Singaporean citizenship was first granted in 1957 when Singapore was a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom?

... that the first Director of Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department, Glenn Knight, was also the first legal officer in the country to be charged for corruption?

... that Dragon's Teeth Gate, an ancient navigational landmark, was documented in one of the earliest historic records of Singapore?

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Selected panorama

Credit: Chensiyuan

The skyline of Singapore's Central Business District in daytime. Notable landmarks in the picture includes the new and old Supreme Court of Singapore and the skyscrapers in the Marina Bay area.

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Related portals

Southeast Asia

Other Countries

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Tasks

Things you can do

Check for latest announcements and updates at the WikiProject Singapore
Make yourself known as a Singaporean Wikipedian
Create or improve on the articles listed in the to do list
Share with us your level of proficiency in Singlish by putting one of the 4 Singlish Babel tags (1 2 3 4) onto your user page
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