Singapore is a bustling city-state in the center of Southeast Asia, famous for its booming economy and strict public security system.
How did this small country become one of the richest countries in the world?
Government
According to the Constitution, Republic of Singapore is a democratic country with a representative system of , and implements parliamentary system of .
In fact, since 1959, its politics has been completely dominated by a political party - People's Action Party (PAP).
Prime Minister is the leader of the parliamentary majority party and the head of the government's executive branch.
The president plays a polite role as the head of state, and he or she can veto the appointment of the highest-level judge.
The one-house parliament has 87 seats, and has been led by members of the People's Action Party for decades.
Interestingly, there are also as many as 9 nominated members who are the closest candidates to the opposition party to win the election.
Singapore's judicial system is relatively simple and consists of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and several commercial courts.
population
Singapore This city-state has a population of about 5,354,000 with a population density of more than 7,000 people per square kilometer (nearly 19,000 people per square mile).
In fact, it is the third densely populated country in the world, second only to Macau, China and Monaco.
Singapore’s population is highly diverse, and many residents are born abroad. Only 63% of the population is actually Singaporean citizens, while 37% are migrant workers or permanent residents.
Race, 74% of Singapore's residents are Chinese, 13.4% are Malays, 9.2% are Indians, and about 3% are mixed races or belong to other ethnic groups.
census data are somewhat biased because until recently the government allowed residents to choose a race in their census form.
languages
Although English is the most commonly spoken language in Singapore, there are four official languages in the country: Chinese, Malay , English and Tamil .
The most common native language is Chinese, accounting for about 50% of the population.
About 32% of people use English as their first language, 12% Malay and 3% Tamil.
Obviously, considering the diversity of the official language , the written language in Singapore is also very complicated.
Commonly used writing systems include Latin letters, Chinese characters and Tamil characters derived from the Indian South Bharamian system.
Religion in Singapore
The largest religion in Singapore is Buddhism, accounting for about 43% of the population.
Most of them are Mahayana Buddhists and are rooted in China, but Hinayana Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism also have many believers.
Almost 15% of Singapore are Muslims, 8.5% are Taoists, about 5% are Catholics, and 4% are Hindu .
Other Christian denominations account for nearly 10%, while about 15% of Singaporeans have no religious preference.
Geographic
Singapore is located in Southeast Asia, Malaysia South end, Indonesia Northern.
It consists of 63 independent islands with a total area of 704 square kilometers (272 square miles).
The largest island is Urong Island, commonly known as Singapore Island .
Singapore is connected to the mainland through Xinrou Changdi and the second channel of Tuas. Its lowest point is sea level, while its highest point is Bukit Timah at an altitude of 166 meters (545 feet).
Climate
Singapore has a tropical climate, so the temperature does not change much throughout the year. The average temperature ranges from 23 to 32°C (73 to 90°F).
The weather is generally hot and humid. There are two monsoon seasons – June to September and December to March.
However, it often rains in the afternoon even during the monsoon.
Economy
Singapore is one of the most successful Asian dragon economy . The per capita GDP of is about 60,000 US dollars, ranking sixth in the world.
As of 2011, its unemployment rate was 2%, with 80% of workers employed in the service industry and 19.6% employed in the industry.
Singapore exports electronic products, telecommunications equipment, medicines, chemicals and refined petroleum. It imports food and consumer goods, but has a large trade surplus .
Singapore history
At least as early as the 2nd century AD, humans settled on the islands that now form Singapore, but little is known about the early history of the region.
Greek cartographer Claudius Ptolemaeus identified an island where Singapore is located and pointed out that it is an important international trade port.
320, Mongol Empire sent envoys to Longyamen Gate or "Dragonya Strait", which is believed to be located on Singapore Island.
Ten years later, explorer Wang Dayuan described a pirate fortress where Chinese and Malays live together, named Danmaxi, which is his translation of the Malay name Tamasik (meaning "harbor").
As for Singapore itself, its founding legend says that in the 13th century, a prince Srivijaya named Sang Nila Utama or Sri Tri Buana was killed on the island.
This is the first time he saw a lion there, and with this as a sign, he should find a new city and name it "Lion City" — Singapore.
Unless the big cat was killed there, it is unlikely that the story will be true, as the island is home to tigers rather than lions.
For the next three hundred years, Singapore changed hands between the Manchuria Empire of Java and the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand).
6th century, Singapore became an important trading warehouse in the Sultanate of Johor, located at the southern end of Malay Peninsula .
However, in 1613, the Portuguese pirates razed the city and Singapore disappeared from an international perspective for 200 years.
819 Stamford Raffles of the United Kingdom established the modern city of Singapore as the UK's trading post in Southeast Asia.
It was called the Straits Colony in 1826, and then was declared the official direct colony of Britain in 1867.
UK controlled Singapore until 1942 when the Imperial Japanese army launched a bloody invasion of the island as part of its southern expansion movement World War II . The Japanese occupation lasted until 1945.
After World War II, Singapore embarked on a tortuous road of independence.
The British believed that the former direct colony was too small to operate as an independent country.
Nevertheless, between 1945 and 1962, Singapore received more and more autonomous measures, and eventually achieved autonomy between 1955 and 1962.
962 After a referendum, Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia.
However, in 1964, a deadly racial riot broke out between Chinese and Malay citizens in Singapore, and the island voted in 1965 to depart from the Federation of Malaysia again.
On August 9, 1965, the Republic of Singapore became a completely autonomous country.
Overall it proved to be a very stable and prosperous small country despite its difficulties, including the racial riots in 1969 and the East Asian financial crisis in 1997.
For a long time, Singapore has been an important port of call on the monsoon Indian Ocean trade route.
Today, Singapore has one of the busiest ports in the world, as well as a booming financial and service industry.
