Learning More About Simply Stunning Singapore

Considered one of the four Asian tigers, Singapore is an urbanized country that takes pride in the fact that despite its diminutive size, it is still a world leader when it comes to economic stability. This island country, despite its rather metropolitan appearance, actually has half of its land mass covered in greenery. To increase its land size, the country is constantly creating land with the use of land reclamation projects.

Singapore is no stranger to occupations since it was once occupied territory itself. In the early 1800s, the island was established as a trading post by the British statesman Stamford Raffles for the East India Company. The British Empire soon gained sovereignty over the city-state in 1824 and was overtaken by Japanese during World War II. After the war, the country returned to British rule but only until it joined the Federation of Malaya in 1963. It broke away from the federation less than a couple of years later and became an independent state with the name Republic of Singapore in 1965.

 

Singapore and Its Geographical Statistics

 

 

Political Geography

Singapore is located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula and is composed of 63 islands. It is separated from its nearest neighbor Malaysia by a waterway called the Straits of Johor in the north and in the south from Riau Island of Indonesia by the Singapore Strait. The country is also somewhat near a few other Southeast-Asian countries like the Philippines and Taiwan to the east although it is nearest Indonesia and Malaysia since it is in the middle of these two countries.

The country is slowly increasing its land area with the help of reclamation projects. These projects are trying to connect the smaller islands around the main island to make these more useful and functional. An example of such a project is Jurong Island. Also noticeable with Singapore is the fact that despite the urbanization of the city-state, with most natural forests having been eliminated due to the development of the metropolis, the country is still pretty green due to efforts to keep the city thus with the use of planted trees. This has given the country its moniker the “Garden City.” 

 

Landscape and Climate

Singapore’s climate is tropical rainforest and does not have any distinctive seasons. The city-state enjoys rather uniform climes with abundant rainfall and rather high humidity. You can easily say that the summer months here are in April and May since these are the hottest months of the year for the country, and the colder monsoon season happens sometime between November and January. You can sometimes expect haze to envelope the country in the months of July to October due to the Indonesian forest fires that usually happen during these times.

 

Political and Governmental Facts on Singapore

 

 

Singapore’s government is a Westminster style parliamentary republic government that has a representative democracy for its political system. Called a Hybrid regime, Singapore is also known for being one of the least corrupt countries around. The country’s executive power is in the hands of the Cabinet, and they are led by both the president and the prime minister. The legislative branch of government in Singapore is the Parliament and is composed of elected, nominated, and non-constituency members.

The judiciary system of Singapore follows English Common Law, much like other former territories of the British Empire. The country used to have trials by jury until it was abolished in 1970, and cases are now tried and assessed by judges. The country strictly enforces judicial corporal punishment in the form of caning for a variety of offenses that include vandalism, rape, rioting, and immigration-related offenses. Death penalties are also handed out here when a person is found guilty of offenses like drug and firearms trafficking as well as murder.

 

Singapore’s Economy

 

 

Singapore’s economic stability has gained it its spot as one of the four Asian tiger economies alongside Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. It has an economy that is considered the most innovative, the freest, the most business-friendly, and the most competitive in the region. The country ranks as the fifteenth-largest importer and fourteenth-largest exporter in the world. It is also the only country in Asia to have the coveted AAA credit ratings from Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s credit rating agencies.

Aside from these, Singapore is often seen as a good place to invest in by foreign companies, and this is due to their low tax rates, skilled workforce, strategic location, and advanced infrastructure. Multi-national corporations from the U.S., UK, Japan, China, and India have built offices in the country and more still continue to follow suit.

 

People and Culture

The people of Singapore are an eclectic bunch that consists of people from almost all walks of life. This may be due to the fact that the country is a good place for investments and numerous companies from around the world have set up shop here. The country currently has 5 million people in it, with 63% of this count being citizens and the rest being permanent foreign residents or workers. The citizens of the country are either of Malay, Chinese, or Indian descent with a few having been born with a European and Asian mix.

Religion in the country is just as diverse, although the most popular religion in the country is Buddhism, which has around 33% of the people in the country following it. Eighteen percent are Christians, 17% say they do not have a religion, 15% are Muslims, 11% are Taoists, and 5% are Hindi. Less than 1% follow other religions.

Food in Singapore is a mixture of both Western and Eastern cuisines with restaurants and food stalls selling food that is influenced by Malay, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, and even Western traditions. Just like other Asian countries, noodles and rice are staples here and are often found complementing meat, seafood, and vegetable dishes. Popular in the country are hawker centers or food courts. These large areas that offer people a wide variety of cuisine is often the choice of locals when dining out is considered due to the wealth of choices available as well as the reasonable prices that come with such a wide selection.