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Singapore, located in South East Asia, is home to one of the world’s busiest sea ports, in terms of tonnage handled. Singapore is one of the most prosperous countries in the modern day with strong international trading links and a per capita GDP equal to most leading modernized western countries. Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819, it was lost to the Japanese during World War 2 but was later regained as a British colony. In 1963 it separated from the commonwealth to join the Malaysian federation but separated 2 years later and became independent. The modern Singapore is a unique blend of Western and South Asian culture, thus gaining Singapore’s catch phrase “Uniquely Singapore”.
Whenever you travel to a new country it can be daunting and because of this it is often important to have some background information on your destination. Because of this we have provided a general outline of Singapore below. Please be advised that information contained in this page is subject to change without prior warning or knowledge, and as such you should consult an expert for the most accurate details.
Official Name: Republic of Singapore
Capital city: City of Singapore
Location: Singapore is located in Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Size: Singapore is approximately 692.7 sq km; in comparison this is slightly larger than Bahrain.
Climate: Singapore’s climate is tropical, hot, humid and rainy with two distinct monsoon seasons-northeastern monsoon and southwestern monsoon. Population: Singapore has a population of approximately 4.65 million people.
Life Expectancy: At birth the average Singaporean can expect to live up to 81.98 years of age.
Major Illness: There are no major prevalent diseases that exist throughout Singapore; however, HIV AIDS is present on the island.
Ethnicities: In Singapore the ethnicities that are present include; Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4%
Languages: Languages in Singapore include; Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9%
Religion: In Singapore there are a number of religions present these include; Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8%
Government: Singapore is a parliamentary republic
Head of State: The current head of state of Singapore is President Sellapan Ramanathan
Economy: The Singaporean economy is a highly developed and successful free market economy which enjoys open and corruption-free environment, inflation stable and a GDP per capita equal to that of the 4 most developed European nations. The economy relies heavily on exports such as, I.T equipment and processing, electronics, pharmaceuticals and a fast growing services sector. During the period of 2003 to 2007 Singapore had an average GDP growth of 7%; this however fell in 2008, due to the large scale economic downturn experienced by the world, to 1.2%. The government is no looking at measure that will hopefully in the future cushion the cyclical effects of the global economy. Singapore continues to strive to be the financial and high tech hub of Southeast Asia.
GDP: Singapore has a purchasing parity of $240 billion USD
For more information about traveling to Singapore, international health insurance plans that we can offer there, or to receive a free customized quote, please contact one of our dedicated advisors today. |
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