Capital
Singapore
Currency
Singapore Dollar (SGD or S$)
Population
5.64 million
Land area
734.3 square kilometres
GDP
SGD 643.5 billion (approximately USD 484.9 billion)
GDP per capita
SGD 114,165 (approximately USD 86,000)
Imports
SGD 655.4 billion (approximately USD 493.9 billion)
Exports
SGD 710.0 billion (approximately USD 535.1 billion)
Established in 1819 as a trading post for the East India Company, Singapore became a sovereign British territory in 1824, and grew to become a major trading hub for the East. While trade has remained a consistent economic driver, business services and a market-driven economy have become the distinguishing qualities that led Singapore to become the fourth largest business centre in the world.
Singapore’s economy is heavily dependent on exports, with a particular focus on electronics, technology and pharmaceuticals. The growth of the financial services sector has made it a notable financial hub in Asia Pacific. Since the inception of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Singapore has been a part of the WTO and has maintained low barriers to trade as part of its outward-looking open economy.
Singapore is one of the most welcoming countries in Asia for expatriates. The city-state has a low crime rate and offers a high quality of living.
Chinese
74.2%
Malay
13.5%
Indian
9.1%
Other
3.2%
Singapore has four official languages:
The country has a literacy rate of 97.6% and more than 50% of the population is literate in 2 or more languages.
Business hours are generally from 8.30am or 9.00am to 5.00pm or 6.00pm on Mondays to Fridays. This can be up to 1.00pm on Saturdays for government offices. Banks are open from 9.30am to 3pm on Mondays to Fridays and up to 1.00pm on Saturdays.
Using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Singapore’s time zone is UTC+8. The country does not practice daylight savings.
There are 11 national gazetted public holidays. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be a public holiday.
Singapore is a constitutional parliamentary republic citystate. Rated as the safest country in Asia, Singapore has a parliamentary system based on the British model.
The 3 organs of state comprise:
Supreme courts: Hears civil cases and criminal cases. Consists of the:
State courts: Hears civil cases and criminal cases. Consists of the:
Family justice courts: Hears family cases and selected criminal cases involving youth offenders. Consists of the:
Singapore is an advanced, successful free-market economy, featuring an open and corruption-free environment. Globally connected, the country touts a pro-business environment with a strong and stable infrastructure to spur growth across industries.
In recent years, emerging alongside the traditional engines of growth in the manufacturing and financial/ business services, the economic landscape has moved
to one that promotes knowledge-based and research-intensive industries. At the same time, there has been a significant growth and development in the biomedical sciences, clean technologies and interactive digital media industries.
The Republic of Singapore is made up of the main Singapore Island and some 54 islets. Some of these offshore islands have become oil refinery centres for the multinational petroleum companies while others, such as Sentosa, have been developed into a resort island offering recreation and entertainment.
Strategically located at the southernmost tip of the Asian continent, at the crossroads of the world’s global trading centres and in the heart of Asia, Singapore is the launch pad to the consumer driven emerging markets of Southeast Asia, China and India.
The country's climate is characterised by uniformly high temperatures and humidity. The average maximum temperature is 31.6°C and average minimum temperature is 25.2°C. Rain falls the whole year with the country seeing an average of 210 rainy days a year.
Singapore is one of the most welcoming cities in Asia for expatriates. It is safe and orderly with clean and green surroundings. Living standards are high with excellent
facilities for shopping, sports and recreation. More than a dozen international schools cater to the needs of the expatriate community. Medical and healthcare service providers are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and the country ranks second globally in medical tourism.#
#‘Medical Tourism Index 2020-2021’, Medical Tourism Association, International Healthcare Research Center (IHRC)
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