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 located 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 its 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, the colonies in Southeast Asia were reorganised, and 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, most notably the perceived encroachment of the egalitarian "Malaysian Malaysia" political ideology led by Lee Kuan Yew into the other constituent entities of Malaysia—at the perceived expense of the bumiputera and the policies of Ketuanan Melayu—eventually 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 unitary 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 dominance over politics and society without much electoral competition. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, and currently holds a supermajority with 79 out of 93 elected seats 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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Marina Bay Street Circuit

The 2015 Singapore Grand Prix (formally known as the 2015 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 20 September 2015 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore. The race was the thirteenth round of the 2015 season. It was the eighth time the race was run as a round of the Formula One World Championship.

Defending race winner Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes entered as the leader in the World Drivers' Championship with 252 points, 53 points ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg and 74 points ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Mercedes came into the race leading the Constructors' Championship by 181 points ahead of Ferrari, with Williams a further 82 points back in third place. (Full article...)

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Credit: Nachoman-au (15 September 2005)

The Singapore Cable Car provides an aerial link from Mount Faber on the main island of Singapore to the resort island of Sentosa across the Keppel Harbour. Opened on 15 February 1974, it was the first aerial ropeway system in the world to span a harbour. Read more...

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General images

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

Image 1The 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 21888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 3Restored 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 4Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 5The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 6A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 7Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 8Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 9The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 10Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 11Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 12Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 13Lieutenant-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 14Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 15Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 16Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 17The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 18Top view of Bukit Batok West. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 19Engraving of Sir Stamford Raffles by James Thomson
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 21The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 22Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 23Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 24St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 25Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 26A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 27Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 28Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 29The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 30A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 31Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 32The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 33Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 341955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 35The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 36A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 37Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 38Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 39Traffic 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 40The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)

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Kelvin Tan Wei Lian (陈伟联, born 5 October 1981) is a Singaporean former Mandopop singer who earned a living as a busker before he won the first edition of Project SuperStar in 2005. He has released three albums, All I Want Is... (2006), i-Weilian (2007) and Moving Notes...Kelvin Tan (2009). He also had a solo concert at the Singapore Expo, lead a choir at the opening ceremony at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, and singing Singapore's 2009 National Day Parade's theme song. (Full article...)

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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 Han Sai Por Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Xiaxue

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Chinese missionary Tan See Boo moved to Singapore to work for the Presbyterian Church, but later returned to China to persuade Christians to leave the Presbyterian Church?
... that YouTuber Ghib Ojisan visited Yishun, a Singaporean town, expecting danger after reading of cats being slaughtered but instead found it "home to nice people and cute cats"?
... that Singaporean activist Thum Ping Tjin called the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act an attempted coup?
... that to reflect the neighbourhood's heritage as a songbird-watching community, Singapore's Mayflower MRT station is decorated with 22 bird sculptures?
... that RSS Panglima was the first ship of the Republic of Singapore Navy?
... that COVID-19 lockdown restrictions caused a 37-percent increase in infections of dengue fever in Singapore's 2020 outbreak?

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In this month

1 July 1981: Singapore Changi Airport starts operation.
6 July 1990: The East West Line, one of the main lines on Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit system, is completed.
21 July 1964: An ethnic riot between the Malays and Chinese breaks out on Prophet Muhammad's birthday. 23 people are killed.

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... that the tiger in the Coat of arms of Singapore (pictured) represents Malaysia?

... that during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore the Kempeitai East District Branch was the site of interrogation and torture of many civilians and that later the building housed the YMCA?

... that Choa Chu Kang Community Library was the first library in Singapore to install self-check machines for borrowing and returning of books?

... that the late Singaporean Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Balaji Sadasivan became a neurosurgeon after seeing the effects of Minamata disease in Minamata, Japan, as a medical student?

... that 159 soldiers of the Malay Regiment fought against a 13,000-strong Japanese force to defend a hill position in Singapore’s Kent Ridge Park?

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Selected panorama

Credit: Sengkeng (12 November 2006)

Sungei Serangoon (Malay for Serangoon River; Chinese: 实龙岗河) is a river in the north-eastern part of Singapore. The 6-kilometre river starts as a canal near Tampines Road, and flows through Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol, Lorong Halus and Pasir Ris, before emptying into the Serangoon Harbour. The river is also known as the Serangoon Estuary.

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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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