Singapore#British colonial rule .281819.E2.80.931940.29

{{Main|Names of Singapore}}

The English name of "Singapore" is an anglicisation of the native Malay name for the country, {{lang|ms|Singapura}} ({{IPA|ms|siŋapura|audio|LL-Q9237 (msa)-Noaius Paticus-Singapura.wav}}), which was in turn derived from the Sanskrit word for 'lion city' ({{langx|sa|सिंहपुर}}; romanised: {{lang|sa-Latn|Siṃhapura}}; Brahmi: {{lang|sa-Brah|𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀳𑀧𑀼𑀭}}; literally "lion city"; {{wikt-lang|sa|सिंह|siṃha|script=Latn}} means 'lion', {{wikt-lang|sa|पुर|pura|script-Latn}} means 'city' or 'fortress').{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/46/S0424600.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010411060419/http://www.bartleby.com/61/46/S0424600.html|url-status=dead |archive-date=11 April 2001 |title=Singapore |publisher=Bartleby |access-date=13 May 2020}} Pulau Ujong was one of the earliest references to Singapore Island, which corresponds to a Chinese account from the third century referred to a place as Pú Luó Zhōng ({{zh|c=蒲 羅 中}}), a transcription of the Malay name for 'island at the end of a peninsula'.{{cite web |title=Singapore: History, Singapore 1994 |url=http://inic.utexas.edu/asnic/countries/singapore/Singapore-History.html |publisher=Asian Studies @ University of Texas at Austin |access-date=13 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070323095958/http://inic.utexas.edu/asnic/countries/Singapore/Singapore-History.html |archive-date=23 March 2007 |url-status=dead}} Early references to the name Temasek (or Tumasik) are found in the Nagarakretagama, a Javanese eulogy written in 1365, and a Vietnamese source from the same time period. The name possibly means Sea Town, being derived from the Malay {{lang|ms|tasek}}, meaning 'sea' or 'lake'.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTOJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA381 |title=Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics |author1=Victor R Savage |author2=Brenda Yeoh |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |date=15 June 2013 |isbn=9789814484749 |page=381 |access-date=28 July 2017 |archive-date=12 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412012131/https://books.google.com/books?id=DTOJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA381 |url-status=live}} The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan visited a place around 1330 named Danmaxi ({{zh|c=淡馬錫|p= Dànmǎxí|w=Tan Ma Hsi}}) or Tam ma siak, depending on pronunciation; this may be a transcription of Temasek, alternatively, it may be a combination of the Malay {{lang|ms|Tanah}} meaning 'land' and Chinese {{lang|zh-Latn|xi}} meaning 'tin', which was traded on the island.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMt3BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA173 |title=Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300–1800 |author1-link=John N. Miksic |author=John N. Miksic |publisher=NUS Press |date=15 November 2013 |isbn=978-9971695743 |pages=171–182 |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-date=5 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305143007/https://books.google.com/books?id=bMt3BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA173#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}

Variations of the name {{lang|sa-Latn|Siṃhapura}} were used for a number of cities throughout the region prior to the establishment of the Kingdom of Singapura. In Hindu–Buddhist culture, lions were associated with power and protection, which may explain the attraction of such a name.{{sfn|Miksic|2013|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bMt3BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA151 151–152]}}{{cite news |url=https://mothership.sg/2016/12/5-other-places-in-asia-which-are-also-called-singapura/ |title=5 other places in Asia which are also called Singapura |author=Joshua Lee |work=Mothership |date=6 December 2016 |access-date=13 May 2020 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406022412/https://mothership.sg/2016/12/5-other-places-in-asia-which-are-also-called-singapura/ |url-status=live}} The name Singapura supplanted Temasek sometime before the 15th century, after the establishment of the Kingdom of Singapura on the island by a fleeing Sumatran Raja (prince) from Palembang. However, the precise time and reason for the name change is unknown. The semi-historical Malay Annals state that Temasek was christened Singapura by Sang Nila Utama, a 13th-century Sumatran Raja from Palembang. The Annals state that Sang Nila Utama encountered a strange beast on the island that he took to be a lion. Seeing this as an omen, he established the town of Singapura where he encountered the beast.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/sejarah-melayu-cheah-boon-kheng/page/n1/mode/2up?q= |title=Sejarah Melayu The Malay Annals MS RAFFLES No. 18 Edisi Rumi Baru/New Romanised Edition |date=1998 |publisher=Academic Art & Printing Services Sdn. Bhd. |isbn=967-9948-13-7 |editor-last1=Kheng |editor-first1=Cheah Boon |editor-last2=Ismail |editor-first2=Abdul Rahman Haji}}{{Rp|37, 88–92}}{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=C.C. |date=October 1952 |title=The Malay Annals translated from Raffles MS 18 |url=https://archive.org/details/malay-annals-C.-C.-Brown/page/n1/mode/2up?q= |journal=Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=25 |issue=2&3 |pages=1–276}}{{Rp|30–31}} The second hypothesis, drawn from Portuguese sources, postulates that this mythical story is based on the real life Parameswara of Palembang. Parameswara declared independence from Majapahit and mounted a Lion Throne. After then being driven into exile by the Javanese, he usurped control over Temasek. He may have rechristened the area as Singapura, recalling the throne he had been driven from.{{cite book |last=Turnbull |first=C.M. |author-link=C. M. Turnbull |title=A History of Modern Singapore, 1819–2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y9yvBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA22 |publisher=NUS Press |year=2009 |pages=21–22 |isbn=978-9971-69-430-2 |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305143058/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y9yvBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}

Under Japanese occupation, Singapore was renamed {{Nihongo|Syonan-to|昭 南|Shōnan|lead=yes}}, meaning 'light of the south'.{{cite book |last=Abshire |first=Jean |title=The History of Singapore |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=104 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AHF59oExO80C&pg=PA104 |isbn=978-0-313-37743-3 |access-date=21 November 2020 |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000704/https://books.google.com/books?id=AHF59oExO80C&pg=PA104 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |last1=Blackburn |first1=Kevin |first2=Karl |last2=Hack |title=Did Singapore Have to Fall?: Churchill and the Impregnable Fortress |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-40440-9 |page=132 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUC2qveu-b8C&pg=PA132 |access-date=21 November 2020 |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000739/https://books.google.com/books?id=TUC2qveu-b8C&pg=PA132 |url-status=live}} Singapore is sometimes referred to by the nickname the "Garden City", in reference to its parks and tree-lined streets.{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Goetz |first1=Philip W. |title=Singapore |quote="Singapore, known variously as the 'Lion City,' or 'Garden City,' the latter for its many parks and tree-lined streets |encyclopedia=The New Encyclopædia Britannica |location=Chicago |edition=15th |date=1991 |page=832 |isbn=978-0-85229-529-8 |bibcode=1991neb..book.....G}} Another informal name, the "Little Red Dot", was adopted after an article in the Asian Wall Street Journal of 4 August 1998 said that Indonesian President B. J. Habibie referred to Singapore as a red dot on a map.{{cite news |last1=Glennie |first1=Charlotte |last2=Ang |first2=Mavis |last3=Rhys |first3=Gillian |last4=Aul |first4=Vidhu |last5=Walton |first5=Nicholas |title=50 reasons Singapore is the best city in the world |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/singapore-50-reasons |quote="The Lion City. The Garden City. The Asian Tiger. The 'Fine' City. All venerable nicknames, and the longtime favourite is the 'Little Red Dot'" |publisher=CNN |date=6 August 2015 |access-date=13 May 2020 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807045157/http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/singapore-50-reasons |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=A little red dot in a sea of green |url=https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21657610-sense-vulnerability-has-made-singapore-what-it-today-can-it-now-relax-bit |newspaper=The Economist |date=16 July 2015 |quote="..with a characteristic mixture of pride and paranoia, Singapore adopted 'little red dot' as a motto" |location=London |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=16 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016175357/https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21657610-sense-vulnerability-has-made-singapore-what-it-today-can-it-now-relax-bit |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Editorial: The mighty red dot |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2017/09/08/editorial-the-mighty-red-dot.html |work=The Jakarta Post |date=8 September 2017 |access-date=13 May 2020 |archive-date=28 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128071756/https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2017/09/08/editorial-the-mighty-red-dot.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Habibie truly admired the 'Little Red Dot' |newspaper=Today |date=20 September 2006}}.

{{Main|History of Singapore}}

{{further|Early history of Singapore}}

In 1299, according to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island by Sang Nila Utama.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J9JAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA43 |title=Malay Annals |page=43 |author=|translator-last=Leyden|translator-first=John |date=1821}} Although the historicity of the accounts as given in the Malay Annals is the subject of academic debates,{{sfn|Miksic|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bMt3BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 154]}} it is nevertheless known from various documents that Singapore in the 14th century, then known as Temasek, was a trading port under the influence of both the Majapahit Empire and the Siamese kingdoms,{{sfn|Miksic|2013|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bMt3BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA184 183–185]}} and was a part of the Indosphere.{{cite book |last1=Dixon |first1=Robert M.W. |last2=Alexandra |first2=Y. |year=2004 |title=Adjective Classes: A Cross-linguistic Typology |url=https://archive.org/details/adjectiveclasses00dixo_002|url-access=limited |page=[https://archive.org/details/adjectiveclasses00dixo_002/page/n96 74] |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-920346-6}}{{Citation |last=Matisoff |first=James|author-link=James Matisoff |title=On Megalocomparison |journal=Language |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=106–120 |year=1990 |doi=10.2307/415281 |jstor=415281}}{{Citation |last=Enfield |first=N.J. |title=Areal Linguistics and Mainland Southeast Asia |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=34 |pages=181–206 |year=2005 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.34.081804.120406 |url=http://pubman.mpdl.mpg.de/pubman/item/escidoc:57458/component/escidoc:57459/Enfield_2005_areal.pdf |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0013-167B-C|hdl-access=free|access-date=5 August 2018|archive-date=16 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816071246/http://pubman.mpdl.mpg.de/pubman/item/escidoc:57458/component/escidoc:57459/Enfield_2005_areal.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/2635407 |title=As in Heaven, So on Earth: The Politics of Visnu Siva and Harihara Images in Preangkorian Khmer Civilisation |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=21–39 |publisher=Academia|access-date=23 December 2015 |last1=Lavy |first1=Paul A. |year=2003 |doi=10.1017/S002246340300002X |s2cid=154819912|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812222402/https://www.academia.edu/2635407|url-status=live |issn=0022-4634}}{{cite web |url=http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/people/faculty/stark/pdfs/AP1999%20article.pdf |title=Results of the 1995–1996 Archaeological Field Investigations at Angkor Borei, Cambodia |publisher=University of Hawai'i-Manoa|access-date=5 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923172419/http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/People/Faculty/Stark/pdfs/AP1999%20article.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2015}} These Indianised kingdoms were characterised by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability.Pierre-Yves Manguin, "From Funan to Sriwijaya: Cultural continuities and discontinuities in the Early Historical maritime states of Southeast Asia", in 25 tahun kerjasama Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi dan Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient, Jakarta, Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi / EFEO, 2002, p. 59–82. Historical sources also indicate that around the end of the 14th century, its ruler Parameswara was attacked by either the Majapahit or the Siamese, forcing him to move to Malacca where he founded the Sultanate of Malacca.{{sfn|Miksic|2013|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bMt3BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA162 155–163]}} Archaeological evidence suggests that the main settlement on Fort Canning Hill was abandoned around this time, although a small trading settlement continued in Singapore for some time afterwards. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, and the island faded into obscurity for the next two centuries.{{cite book |last=Borschberg |first=P. |title=The Singapore and Melaka Straits. Violence, Security and Diplomacy in the 17th century |publisher=NUS Press |year=2010 |location=Singapore |pages=157–158 |isbn=978-9971-69-464-7}} By then, Singapore was nominally part of the Johor Sultanate.{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/singapore/3.htm |title=Country Studies: Singapore: History |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress|access-date=1 May 2007|archive-date=23 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923070753/http://countrystudies.us/singapore/3.htm|url-status=live}} The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period after the 1641 Dutch conquest of Malacca.{{cite book|editor-last=Leitch Lepoer|editor-first=Barbara |title=Singapore: A Country Study |url=http://countrystudies.us/singapore/|access-date=18 February 2010 |series=Country Studies |year=1989 |publisher=GPO for tus/singapore/4.htm|archive-date=15 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015211019/http://countrystudies.us/singapore/|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Founding of modern Singapore|Singapore in the Straits Settlements}}

File:Letter from William Farquhar to Sultan Muhammad Kanzul Alam, the Sultan of Brunei, dated 28 November 1819.jpg to Sultan Muhammad Kanzul Alam, the 21st Sultan of Brunei, dated 28 November 1819. In the first line, Farquhar mentions that Sultan Hussein Shah and Temenggong Abdul Rahman allowed the British East India Company to establish a factory in Singapore on 6 February 1819.{{Cite book |last1=Nicholl |first1=Robert |title=From Buckfast to Borneo: Essays Presented to Father Robert Nicholl on the 85th Anniversary of His Birth, 27 March 1995 |last2=King |first2=Victor T. |last3=Horton |first3=A. V. H. |publisher=University of Hull |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-85958-836-2 |location=Hull, England |pages=219 |chapter=Malay sources for the history of the Sultanate of Brunei in the early nineteenth century: some letters from the reign of Sultan Muhammad Kanzul Alam (Annabel Teh Gallop) |oclc=35366675 |access-date=24 April 2022 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/11507827 |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000715/https://www.academia.edu/11507827 |url-status=live}}{{Cite book |url=http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=add_ms_12398_f019r |title=Farquhar Letterbook (Add MS 12398) |year=1842 |pages=39–40 |language=ms |chapter=Ini kupia surat kepada Raja Barunai |trans-chapter=This is a copy of the letter to the Raja of Brunei |access-date=24 April 2022 |archive-date=24 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424173837/http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=add_ms_12398_f019r |url-status=live}}]]

The British governor Stamford Raffles arrived in Singapore on 28 January 1819 and soon recognised the island as a natural choice for the new port.{{cite book |author1=Mun Cheong Yong |author2=V. V. Bhanoji Rao |title=Singapore-India Relations: A Primer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdZo5Ui8oS4C&pg=PA3 |year=1995 |publisher=NUS Press |isbn=978-9971-69-195-0 |page=3|access-date=14 September 2019|archive-date=11 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000734/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdZo5Ui8oS4C&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} The island was then nominally ruled by Tengku Abdul Rahman, the Sultan of Johor, who was controlled by the Dutch and the Bugis.{{cite book |last=Trocki |first=Carl A. |title=Singapore: Wealth, Power and the Culture of Control |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vA-CAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 |year=2009 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-50243-1 |page=73|access-date=14 September 2019|archive-date=11 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000706/https://books.google.com/books?id=vA-CAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA73#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} However, the Sultanate was weakened by factional division: Abdul Rahman, the Temenggong of Johor to Tengku Abdul Rahman, as well as his officials, were loyal to the Sultan's elder brother Tengku Long, who was living in exile in Penyengat Island, Riau Islands. With the Temenggong's help, Raffles managed to smuggle Tengku Long back into Singapore. Raffles offered to recognise Tengku Long as the rightful Sultan of Johor, under the title of Sultan Hussein, as well as provide him with a yearly payment of $5000 and another $3000 to the Temenggong; in return, Sultan Hussein would grant the British the right to establish a trading post on Singapore.{{cite web |title=Singapore – Founding and Early Years |url=http://countrystudies.us/singapore/4.htm |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress|access-date=18 July 2006|archive-date=17 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117143728/http://countrystudies.us/singapore/4.htm|url-status=live}} The Treaty of Singapore was signed on 6 February 1819.{{cite web |title=1819 – The February Documents |publisher=Ministry of Defence |date=7 February 1997|access-date=18 July 2006 |last=Ng |first=Jenny |url=http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/overview/the_early_years/v01n02b_history.html|archive-date=17 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717065310/https://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/overview/the_early_years/v01n02b_history.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Milestones in Singapore's Legal History |publisher=Supreme Court, Singapore|access-date=18 July 2006 |url=http://app.supremecourt.gov.sg/default.aspx?pgID=39|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927183512/http://app.supremecourt.gov.sg/default.aspx?pgID=39|archive-date=27 September 2007}}

File:Part of Singapore Island (British Library India Office Records, 1825, detail).jpg trade was at Singapore River for 150 years. Fort Canning hill (centre) was home to its ancient and early colonial rulers.]]

In 1824, a further treaty with the Sultan led to the entire island becoming a part of the British Empire.{{cite web |title=Founding of Modern Singapore |url=http://app.www.sg/who/32/Founding-of-Modern-Singapore.aspx |publisher=Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts|access-date=13 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508135636/http://app.www.sg/who/32/Founding-of-Modern-Singapore.aspx|archive-date=8 May 2009}} In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, then under the jurisdiction of British India. Singapore became the regional capital in 1836.{{cite web |url=http://www.archiveeditions.co.uk/titledetails.asp?tid=17 |title=East & South-East Asia Titles: Straits Settlements Annual Reports (Singapore, Penang, Malacca, Labuan) 1855–1941 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|access-date=31 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609014003/http://www.archiveeditions.co.uk/titledetails.asp?tid=17|archive-date=9 June 2012|url-status=dead}} Prior to Raffles' arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese.{{cite web |title=The Malays |url=http://yesterday.sg/discover-more/communities-festivals/communities/the-malays/ |publisher=National Heritage Board 2011|access-date=28 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223000344/http://yesterday.sg/discover-more/communities-festivals/communities/the-malays/|archive-date=23 February 2011}} By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, more than half being Chinese. Many of these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924023134368#page/n227/mode/2up|editor1-last=Wright|editor1-first=Arnold|editor2-last=Cartwright|editor2-first=H.A. |last=Sanderson |first=Reginald |date=1907 |title=Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources |pages=220–221}} In 1867, the Straits Settlements were separated from British India, coming under the direct control of Britain.{{Cite web |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/372a4e72-9f1b-4eb4-9ec6-58cad02000f0 |title=Singapore attains crown colony status – Singapore History |website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg|access-date=3 April 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414171544/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/372a4e72-9f1b-4eb4-9ec6-58cad02000f0|url-status=live}} Later, in the 1890s, when the rubber industry became established in Malaya and Singapore,{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/a8ceea4c-1c8b-4c9a-885c-b85038b39e4c |title=First Rubber Trees are Planted in Singapore – 1877 |website=History SG |publisher=National Library Board Singapore|access-date=8 February 2017|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614122517/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/a8ceea4c-1c8b-4c9a-885c-b85038b39e4c|url-status=live}} the island became a global centre for rubber sorting and export.

File:Singapore 1865 SLNSW FL15083916.jpg

Singapore was not greatly affected by the First World War (1914–18), as the conflict did not spread to Southeast Asia. The only significant event during the war was the 1915 Singapore Mutiny by Muslim sepoys from British India, who were garrisoned in Singapore.{{cite book |title=The Indian Army in the Two World Wars |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cON5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |date=14 October 2011 |publisher=Brill Publishers |isbn=978-90-04-21145-2 |pages=17–18|access-date=14 September 2019|archive-date=11 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000843/https://books.google.com/books?id=cON5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} After hearing rumours that they were to be sent to fight the Ottoman Empire, a Muslim state, the soldiers rebelled, killing their officers and several British civilians before the mutiny was suppressed by non-Muslim troops arriving from Johore and Burma.{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_570_2005-01-24.html |title=1915 Singapore Mutiny |website=National Library Board |publisher=National Library Board Singapore|access-date=26 August 2019|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225200105/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_570_2005-01-24.html|url-status=live}}

After World War I, the British built the large Singapore Naval Base as part of the defensive Singapore strategy.{{cite book |last=Stille |first=Mark |title=Malaya and Singapore 1941–42: The fall of Britain's empire in the East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHe9DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |year=2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-1124-0 |pages=5–6|access-date=14 September 2019|archive-date=11 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211000710/https://books.google.com/books?id=gHe9DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} Originally announced in 1921, the construction of the base proceeded at a slow pace until the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Costing $60 million and not fully completed in 1938, it was nonetheless the largest dry dock in the world, the third-largest floating dock, and had enough fuel tanks to support the entire British navy for six months.{{cite book |last=Tan |first=Kevin |title=Marshall of Singapore: A Biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BH88kpvyrdYC&pg=PA90 |year=2008 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |isbn=978-981-230-878-8 |pages=90–}}{{cite book |last=Hobbs |first=David |title=The British Pacific Fleet: The Royal Navy's Most Powerful Strike Force |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVEgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |year=2017 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-61251-917-3 |page=5 |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211001300/https://books.google.com/books?id=FVEgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}} The base was defended by heavy {{convert|15|in|mm|adj=on}} naval guns stationed at Fort Siloso, Fort Canning and Labrador, as well as a Royal Air Force airfield at Tengah Air Base. Winston Churchill touted it as the "Gibraltar of the East", and military discussions often referred to the base as simply "East of Suez". However, the British Home Fleet was stationed in Europe, and the British could not afford to build a second fleet to protect their interests in Asia. The plan was for the Home Fleet to sail quickly to Singapore in the event of an emergency. As a consequence, after World War II broke out in 1939, the fleet was fully occupied with defending Britain, leaving Singapore vulnerable to Japanese invasion.{{cite book |last1=Lamb |first1=Margaret |last2=Tarling |first2=Nicholas |title=From Versailles to Pearl Harbor: The Origins of the Second World War in Europe and Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4izcCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818180438/https://books.google.com/books?id=4izcCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 August 2020 |date=2001 |publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education |isbn=978-1-4039-3772-8 |page=39}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BH88kpvyrdYC&pg=PA90 |title=Marshall of Singapore: A Biography |last=Tan |first=Kevin |isbn=978-981-230-878-8 |year=2008 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies}}

{{Main|Japanese occupation of Singapore}}

File:Evacuation of British POWs, Kallang Airport, Singapore - 19450908.jpg. Kallang Airport's control tower near the city has been conserved.]]

During the Pacific War, the Japanese invasion of Malaya culminated in the Battle of Singapore. When the British force of 60,000 troops surrendered on 15 February 1942, British prime minister Winston Churchill called the defeat "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history".{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/15/newsid_3529000/3529447.stm |title=On This Day – 15 February 1942: Singapore forced to surrender |access-date=1 May 2007 |publisher=BBC News |date=15 February 1942 |archive-date=19 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519174009/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/15/newsid_3529000/3529447.stm |url-status=live}} British and Empire losses during the fighting for Singapore were heavy, with a total of nearly 85,000 personnel captured.{{sfn|Wigmore|1957|p=382}} About 5,000 were killed or wounded,{{cite web |url=http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-singapore |title=Battle of Singapore |publisher=World History Group |access-date=8 May 2015 |archive-date=12 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512181020/http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-singapore |url-status=live}} of which Australians made up the majority.{{sfn|Legg|1965|p=248}}{{cite news |title=1,000 Aussie victims of WWII join suit against Japan |first=Teresa |last=Ooi |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=17 January 1995}}{{cite news |title=South West Pacific War: Australia's Fine Record |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19460912-1.2.47?ST=1&AT=search&k=battle%20of%20singapore,%20world%20war%20ii,%20australians&QT=battle,of,singapore,world,war,ii,australians&oref=article |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=12 September 1946 |access-date=22 October 2019 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220093327/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19460912-1.2.47?ST=1&AT=search&k=battle%20of%20singapore,%20world%20war%20ii,%20australians&QT=battle,of,singapore,world,war,ii,australians&oref=article |url-status=live}} Japanese casualties during the fighting in Singapore amounted to 1,714 killed and 3,378 wounded.{{sfn|Wigmore|1957|p=382}}{{efn|The breakdown of British Empire losses included 38,496 United Kingdom, 18,490 Australian, 67,340 Indian and 14,382 local volunteer troops. Total Australian casualties included 1,789 killed and 1,306 wounded.{{sfn|Wigmore|1957|p=382}}}} The occupation was to become a major turning point in the histories of several nations, including those of Japan, Britain, and Singapore. Japanese newspapers triumphantly declared the victory as deciding the general situation of the war.{{sfn|Toland|1970|p=277}}{{cite news |title=Japanese Occupation newspaper in library portal |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/japanese-occupation-newspaper-in-library-portal |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |first=Melody |last=Zaccheus |date=21 January 2017 |access-date=22 October 2019 |archive-date=19 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819024819/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/japanese-occupation-newspaper-in-library-portal |url-status=live}} Between 5,000 and 25,000 ethnic Chinese people were killed in the subsequent Sook Ching massacre.{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sg0027) |title=Singapore, Shonan: Light of the South |last=Leitch Lepoer |first=Barbara |year=1989 |website=Library of Congress Country Studies |publisher=Government Printing Office |access-date=29 January 2011 |location=Washington, DC |archive-date=29 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629230435/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sg0027) |url-status=live}} British forces had planned to liberate Singapore in 1945/1946; however, the war ended before these operations could be carried out.{{sfn|Bose|2010|pp=18–20}}{{cite news |title=The real Japanese surrender |url=http://staff.science.nus.edu.sg/~sivasothi/blog/pdf/jap_surrender-st04sep2005.pdf |archive-url= https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080119210334/http://staff.science.nus.edu.sg/~sivasothi/blog/pdf/jap_surrender-st04sep2005.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date=19 January 2008 |newspaper=The Sunday Times |location=Singapore |date=4 September 2005 |access-date=22 October 2019}}

{{Main|Colony of Singapore}}

File:SINGAPORE.png

After the Japanese surrender to the Allies on 15 August 1945, Singapore fell into a brief state of violence and disorder; looting and revenge-killing were widespread. British, Australian, and Indian troops led by Lord Louis Mountbatten returned to Singapore to receive the formal surrender of Japanese forces in the region from General Seishirō Itagaki on behalf of General Hisaichi Terauchi on 12 September 1945.{{sfn|Bose|2010|pp=18–20}} Meanwhile, Tomoyuki Yamashita was tried by a US military commission for war crimes, but not for crimes committed by his troops in Malaya or Singapore. He was convicted and hanged in the Philippines on 23 February 1946.{{sfn|Smith|2006|p=556–557}}{{cite news |title=Yamashita Hanged |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/maltribune19460223-1.2.12 |work=Malaya Tribune |location=Singapore |date=23 February 1946 |access-date=22 October 2019 |archive-date=22 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022150250/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/maltribune19460223-1.2.12 |url-status=live}}

Much of the infrastructure in Singapore had been destroyed during the war, including those needed to supply utilities. A shortage of food led to malnutrition, disease, and rampant crime and violence. A series of strikes in 1947 caused massive stoppages in public transport and other services. However, by late 1947 the economy began to recover, facilitated by a growing international demand for tin and rubber.{{cite web |title=Singapore – Aftermath of War |url=http://countrystudies.us/singapore/9.htm |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |access-date=16 May 2020 |archive-date=14 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514010408/http://countrystudies.us/singapore/9.htm |url-status=live}} The failure of Britain to successfully defend its colony against the Japanese changed its image in the eyes of Singaporeans. British Military Administration ended on 1 April 1946, and Singapore became a separate Crown Colony. In July 1947, separate Executive and Legislative Councils were established and the election of six members of the Legislative Council was scheduled for the following year.{{cite web |title=Towards Self-government |url=http://www.sg/explore/history_towards.htm |publisher=Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore |access-date=18 June 2006 |archive-date=13 July 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060713023113/http://www.sg/explore/history_towards.htm |url-status=dead}}

During the 1950s, Chinese communists, with strong ties to the trade unions and Chinese schools, waged a guerrilla war against the government, leading to the Malayan Emergency. The 1954 National Service riots, Hock Lee bus riots, and Chinese middle schools riots in Singapore were all linked to these events.{{cite web |url=http://library.thinkquest.org/12405/19.htm |title=Communism |website=Thinkquest|access-date=29 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000409182924/http://library.thinkquest.org/12405/19.htm|archive-date=9 April 2000}} David Marshall, pro-independence leader of the Labour Front, won Singapore's first general election in 1955.{{Cite journal |last=Low |first=James |date=2004 |title=Kept in Position: The Labour Front-Alliance Government of Chief Minister David Marshall in Singapore, April 1955 – June 1956 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20072556 |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=41–64 |doi=10.1017/S0022463404000037 |jstor=20072556 |s2cid=154326049 |issn=0022-4634|access-date=20 February 2021|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419081147/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20072556|url-status=live|url-access=subscription }} He led a delegation to London, and Britain rejected his demand for complete self-rule. He resigned and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock in 1956, and after further negotiations Britain agreed to grant Singapore full internal self-government for all matters except defence and foreign affairs on 3 June 1959.{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/singapore/10.htm |title=Country studies: Singapore: Road to Independence |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress|access-date=16 May 2020|archive-date=4 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704220519/http://countrystudies.us/singapore/10.htm|url-status=live}} Days before, in the 30 May 1959 election, the People's Action Party (PAP) won a landslide victory.{{cite news |title=Headliners; Retiring, Semi |date=2 December 1990 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE4DD123DF931A35751C1A966958260|access-date=27 December 2008|archive-date=18 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318035148/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE4DD123DF931A35751C1A966958260|url-status=live}} Governor Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode served as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State).{{cite web |url=http://www.singaporelaw.sg/content/LegalSyst1.html |title=The Singapore Legal System |publisher=Singapore Academy of Law|access-date=26 June 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603225639/http://www.singaporelaw.sg/content/LegalSyst1.html|archive-date=3 June 2011}}

{{Main|Singapore in Malaysia}}

File:SingaporeRiver-bumboats-196009.jpgs were used to transport cargoes and supplies between nearshore ships and Singapore River.]]

PAP leaders believed that Singapore's future lay with Malaya, due to strong ties between the two. It was thought that reuniting with Malaya would benefit the economy by creating a common market, alleviating ongoing unemployment woes in Singapore. However, a sizeable left-wing faction of the PAP was strongly opposed to the merger, fearing a loss of influence, and hence formed the Barisan Sosialis, after being kicked out from the PAP.{{cite book |last=Lee |first=T. H |year=1996 |title=The Open United Front: The Communist Struggle in Singapore, 1954–1966 |publisher=Singapore: South Seas Society}}{{cite book |last=Bloodworth |first=D |year=1986 |title=The Tiger and the Trojan Horse |url=https://archive.org/details/tigertrojanhorse00bloo|url-access=registration |publisher=Singapore: Times Books International}} The ruling party of Malaya, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), was staunchly anti-communist, and it was suspected UMNO would support the non-communist factions of PAP. UMNO, initially sceptical of the idea of a merger due to distrust of the PAP government and concern that the large ethnic Chinese population in Singapore would alter the racial balance in Malaya on which their political power base depended, became supportive of the idea of the merger due to joint fear of a communist takeover.{{cite news |title=MCA: Wipe out extremists |date=18 February 1959 |newspaper=Singapore Standard}}

On 27 May 1961, Malaya's prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, made a surprise proposal for a new Federation called Malaysia, which would unite the current and former British possessions in the region: the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Brunei, North Borneo, and Sarawak.{{cite news |title=Big 'Unity' Plan – Tengku on closer ties with S'pore, Borneo and Brunei |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1961-05-28/full.jpg |work=The Straits Times |publisher=Singapore Press Holdings |date=28 May 1961 |page=1 |access-date=9 March 2022 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309061422/https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1961-05-28/full.jpg |url-status=live}} UMNO leaders believed that the additional Malay population in the Bornean territories would balance Singapore's Chinese population. The British government, for its part, believed that the merger would prevent Singapore from becoming a haven for communism.{{cite news |title=Appeal To Singapore |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19620328-1.2.70.1?ST=1&AT=advanced |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |page=10 |date=28 March 1962|access-date=19 August 2017|archive-date=19 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319214737/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19620328-1.2.70.1?ST=1&AT=advanced|url-status=live}} To obtain a mandate for a merger, the PAP held a referendum on the merger. This referendum included a choice of different terms for a merger with Malaysia and had no option for avoiding merger altogether.{{cite news |title=Yes – What a win for Premier Lee |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1962-09-02/full.jpg |access-date=9 March 2022 |work=The Straits Times |publisher=Singapore Press Holdings |date=2 September 1962 |page=1 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309061847/https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1962-09-02/full.jpg |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Merger "Yes" |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1962-09-03/full.jpg |access-date=9 March 2022 |work=The Straits Times |publisher=Singapore Press Holdings |date=3 September 1962 |page=1 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309061616/https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1962-09-03/full.jpg |url-status=live}} On 16 September 1963, Singapore joined with Malaya, the North Borneo, and Sarawak to form the new Federation of Malaysia under the terms of the Malaysia Agreement.{{cite news |last1=Abisheganaden |first1=Felix |title=Hail Malaysia! |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1963-09-16/full.jpg |access-date=9 March 2022 |work=The Straits Times |publisher=Singapore Press Holdings |date=16 September 1963 |page=1 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309062748/https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1963-09-16/full.jpg |url-status=live}} Under this Agreement, Singapore had a relatively high level of autonomy compared to the other states of Malaysia.{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/1dab53ea-788c-461c-acfb-ca625b974c9c |title=Singapore becomes part of Malaysia |publisher=HistorySG|access-date=6 February 2017|archive-date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207040425/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/1dab53ea-788c-461c-acfb-ca625b974c9c|url-status=live}}

Indonesia opposed the formation of Malaysia due to its own claims over Borneo and launched Konfrontasi ("Confrontation" in Indonesian) in response to the formation of Malaysia.{{cite book |last1=James |first1=Harold |last2=Sheil-Small |first2=Denis |year=1971 |title=The Undeclared War: The Story of the Indonesian Confrontation 1962–1966 |publisher=Rowman and Littlefield |location=Totowa |isbn=978-0-87471-074-8}}{{cite book |last=Mackie |first=J.A.C. |year=1974 |title=Konfrontasi: The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute 1963–1966 |location=Kuala Lumpur |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-638247-0}} On 10 March 1965, a bomb planted by Indonesian saboteurs on a mezzanine floor of MacDonald House exploded, killing three people and injuring 33 others. It was the deadliest of at least 42 bomb incidents which occurred during the confrontation.{{cite news |title=Record of the Wreckers |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19650516-1.2.85 |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=16 May 1965|access-date=19 August 2017|archive-date=19 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819065549/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19650516-1.2.85|url-status=live}} Two members of the Indonesian Marine Corps, Osman bin Haji Mohamed Ali and Harun bin Said, were eventually convicted and executed for the crime.{{cite news |title=Mac Donald House blast: Two for trial |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19650406-1.2.99 |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=6 April 1965|access-date=19 August 2017|archive-date=19 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819064442/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19650406-1.2.99|url-status=live}} The explosion caused US$250,000 ({{Inflation|US|250000|1965|fmt=eq|cursign=US$}}) in damages to MacDonald House.{{cite web |author=Tan Lay Yuan |title=MacDonald House bomb explosion |url=http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_62_2004-12-17.html |website=Singapore Infopedia |publisher=National Library Board|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111215082844/http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_62_2004-12-17.html|archive-date=15 December 2011}}{{cite news |title=Mac Donald House suffered $250,000 bomb damage |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19651009-1.2.46 |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=9 October 1965|access-date=19 August 2017|archive-date=19 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819065124/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19651009-1.2.46|url-status=live}}

Even after the merger, the Singaporean government and the Malaysian central government disagreed on many political and economic issues. Despite an agreement to establish a common market, Singapore continued to face restrictions when trading with the rest of Malaysia. In retaliation, Singapore did not extend to Sabah and Sarawak the full extent of the loans agreed to for economic development of the two eastern states. Talks soon broke down, and abusive speeches and writing became rife on both sides. This led to communal strife in Singapore, culminating in the 1964 race riots.{{Cite book |title=A moment of anguish: Singapore in Malaysia and the politics of disengagement |last=Lau |first=A |publisher=Times Academic Press |year=2000 |location=Singapore}} On 7 August 1965, Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, seeing no alternative to avoid further bloodshed (and with the help of secret negotiations by PAP leaders, as revealed in 2015) advised the Parliament of Malaysia that it should vote to expel Singapore from Malaysia.{{cite news |title=Road to Independence |url=http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/merger/merger.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013002423/http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/merger/merger.html|archive-date=13 October 2013 |publisher=AsiaOne |year=1998}} On 9 August 1965, the Malaysian Parliament voted 126 to 0 to move a bill to amend the constitution, expelling Singapore from Malaysia, which left Singapore as a newly independent country.{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sg0033) |title=Singapore as Part of Malaysia |last=Leitch Lepoer |first=Barbara |year=1989 |website=Library of Congress Country Studies |publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=29 January 2011 |location=Washington, DC|archive-date=29 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629223526/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sg0033)|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article7878 |title=A Summary of Malaysia-Singapore History |website=europe-solidaire|access-date=29 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529081759/http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article7878|archive-date=29 May 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/dc1efe7a-8159-40b2-9244-cdb078755013#27 |title=Singapore separates from Malaysia and becomes independent – Singapore History |quote=Negotiations were, however, done in complete secrecy... (Tunku moved) a bill to amend the constitution that would provide for Singapore's departure from the Federation. Razak was also waiting for the fully signed separation agreement from Singapore to allay possible suggestions that Singapore was expelled from Malaysia. |publisher=National Library Board|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111210312/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/dc1efe7a-8159-40b2-9244-cdb078755013#27|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://thehistoryofsingapore.com/2015/07/31/episode-0-trailer/ |title=Episode 0: Trailer|access-date=14 August 2022|archive-date=20 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920150336/https://thehistoryofsingapore.com/2015/07/31/episode-0-trailer/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/secret-documents-reveal-extent-of-negotiations-for-separation |title=Secret documents reveal extent of negotiations for Separation |newspaper=The Straits Times |date=22 December 2015 |last1=Lim |first1=Edmund|access-date=15 August 2022|archive-date=20 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920150329/https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/secret-documents-reveal-extent-of-negotiations-for-separation|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965}}

File:Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore Making a Toast at a State Dinner Held in His Honor, 1975.jpg, the first prime minister of Singapore.]]

After being expelled from Malaysia, Singapore became independent as the Republic of Singapore on 9 August 1965,{{cite news |title=Road to Independence |url=http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/merger/merger.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013002423/http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/merger/merger.html |archive-date=13 October 2013 |publisher=Headlines, Lifelines, by AsiaOne |year=1998}}{{cite news |last1=Abisheganaden |first1=Felix |title=Singapore is out |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1965-08-10/full.jpg |access-date=21 February 2022 |work=The Straits Times |publisher=Singapore Press Holdings |date=10 August 1965 |archive-date=21 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221051204/https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/assets/images/ST175/NewspaperSG/1965-08-10/full.jpg |url-status=live}} with Lee Kuan Yew and Yusof bin Ishak as the first prime minister and president respectively.{{Cite web |title=Past and present leaders of Singapore |website=Infopedia |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_139_2005-01-19.html |publisher=National Libraries Board |access-date=28 May 2020 |archive-date=5 May 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200505061547/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_139_2005-01-19.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |title=Yusof to be the first President |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19651215-1.2.60 |website=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=1 February 1960 |access-date=28 May 2020 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |via=National Libraries Board |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200807064731/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19651215-1.2.60 |url-status=live}} In 1967, the country co-founded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).{{cite wikisource|Bangkok Declaration}} Race riots broke out once more in 1969.{{cite book |last1=Sandhu |first1=Kernial Singh |last2=Wheatley |first2=Paul |title=Management of Success: The Moulding of Modern Singapore |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |isbn=978-981-3035-42-3 |page=107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldKwPQ2PyBAC&pg=PA107 |year=1989}} Lee Kuan Yew's emphasis on rapid economic growth, support for business entrepreneurship, and limitations on internal democracy shaped Singapore's policies for the next half-century.Terry McCarthy, "Lee Kuan Yew." Time 154: 7–8 (1999). [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402104451/http://madeinthoughts.com/pdf/LeeKuanYew.pdf online] Economic growth continued throughout the 1980s, with the unemployment rate falling to 3% and real GDP growth averaging at about 8% up until 1999. During the 1980s, Singapore began to shift towards high-tech industries, such as the wafer fabrication sector, in order to remain competitive as neighbouring countries began manufacturing with cheaper labour. Singapore Changi Airport was opened in 1981 and Singapore Airlines was formed.{{cite web |title=History of Changi Airport |publisher=Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore |url=http://www.changiairport.com.sg/changi/en/about_us/history_changi.html |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060629014047/http://www.changiairport.com.sg/changi/en/about_us/history_changi.html |archive-date=29 June 2006}} The Port of Singapore became one of the world's busiest ports and the service and tourism industries also grew immensely during this period.{{cite web |title=Lunch Dialogue on 'Singapore as a Transport Hub' |url=https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/news-events/events/details/lunch-dialogue-on-singapore-as-a-transport-hub |website=Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy|access-date=17 November 2018|archive-date=17 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117104954/https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/news-events/events/details/lunch-dialogue-on-singapore-as-a-transport-hub|url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Lam |first1=Yin Yin |title=Three factors that have made Singapore a global logistics hub |url=http://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/three-factors-have-made-singapore-global-logistics-hub |website=The World Bank Blogs |date=26 January 2017|access-date=17 November 2018|archive-date=17 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117105041/http://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/three-factors-have-made-singapore-global-logistics-hub|url-status=live}}

The People's Action Party (PAP) has remained in power since independence. Some activists and opposition politicians see the government's strict regulation of political and media activities as an infringement on political rights.{{cite news |title=Singapore elections |publisher=BBC News |date=5 May 2006 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4976536.stm|access-date=28 July 2017|archive-date=15 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115181132/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4976536.stm|url-status=live}} In response, Singapore has seen several significant political changes, such as the introduction of the non-constituency members of parliament in 1984 to allow up to three losing candidates from opposition parties to be appointed as MPs. Group representation constituencies (GRCs) were introduced in 1988 to create multi-seat electoral divisions, intended to ensure minority representation in parliament.{{Singapore legislation|title=Parliamentary Elections Act|cap=218|titlelink=Parliamentary Elections Act (Singapore)}} Nominated members of parliament were introduced in 1990 to allow non-elected non-partisan MPs.Ho Khai Leong (2003). Shared Responsibilities, Unshared Power: The Politics of Policy-Making in Singapore. Eastern Univ Pr. {{ISBN|978-981-210-218-8}} The constitution was amended in 1991 to provide for an elected president who has veto power in the use of past reserves and appointments to certain public offices.{{cite web |title=Presidential Elections |publisher=Elections Department Singapore |date=18 April 2006 |url=http://www.elections.gov.sg/presidential_elections.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827213801/http://www.elections.gov.sg/presidential_elections.htm|archive-date=27 August 2008}}

In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee and became Singapore's second prime minister.{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Singapore |date=2006 |location=Singapore |publisher=Tailsman Publishing |isbn=978-981-05-5667-9 |page=82 |url=http://eservice.nlb.gov.sg/item_holding_s.aspx?bid=12751459|access-date=19 August 2017|archive-date=7 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707102725/http://eservice.nlb.gov.sg/item_holding_s.aspx?bid=12751459|url-status=live}} During Goh's tenure, the country went through the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak.{{cite news |last=Yeoh |first=En-Lai |date=9 April 2003 |title=Singapore Woman Linked to 100 SARS Cases |agency=Associated Press}}{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_860_2004-12-27.html |title=Goh Chok Tong |publisher=National Library Board|access-date=6 February 2017|archive-date=29 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230729194333/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_860_2004-12-27.html|url-status=live}} In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the country's third prime minister. Lee Hsien Loong's tenure included the 2008 financial crisis, the resolution of a dispute over land ownership at Tanjong Pagar railway station between Singapore and Malaysia, the introduction of the two integrated resorts (IRs), located at the Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, and the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news |title=Country profile: Singapore |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1143240.stm|access-date=22 April 2010 |date=15 July 2009|archive-date=29 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229042533/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1143240.stm|url-status=live}} The PAP suffered its worst ever electoral results in 2011, winning just 60% of votes, amidst debate over issues including the influx of foreign workers and the high cost of living.{{Cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/ge2015-a-look-back-at-the-last-5-general-elections-from-1991-to-2011 |title=GE2015: A look back at the last 5 general elections from 1991 to 2011 |last=hermesauto |date=28 August 2015 |work=The Straits Times|access-date=7 October 2018|archive-date=7 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007073757/https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/ge2015-a-look-back-at-the-last-5-general-elections-from-1991-to-2011|url-status=live}} On 23 March 2015, Lee Kuan Yew died, and a one-week period of public mourning was observed nationwide.{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/remembering-lee-kuan-yew-our-chief-diplomat-to-the-world |title=Lee Kuan Yew: Our chief diplomat to the world |date=25 March 2015 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore|access-date=8 November 2015|archive-date=26 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026020834/http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/remembering-lee-kuan-yew-our-chief-diplomat-to-the-world|url-status=live}} Subsequently, the PAP regained its dominance in Parliament through the September general election, receiving 69.9% of the popular vote,{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=U-Wen |title=PAP racks up landslide win, takes 83 out of 89 seats |url=http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-general-election/pap-racks-up-landslide-win-takes-83-out-of-89-seats |work=Business Times (Singapore) |access-date=13 September 2015 |archive-date=13 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150913023301/http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-general-election/pap-racks-up-landslide-win-takes-83-out-of-89-seats}} although this remained lower than the 2001 tally of 75.3%{{cite news |last=Heng |first=Janice |title=For PAP, the numbers hark back to 2001 polls showing |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/for-pap-the-numbers-hark-back-to-2001-polls-showing |newspaper=The Straits Times |date=12 September 2015 |location=Singapore|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912094804/http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/for-pap-the-numbers-hark-back-to-2001-polls-showing|url-status=live|archive-date=12 September 2015}} and the 1968 tally of 86.7%.{{cite web |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_549_2004-12-28.html |title=History of general elections in Singapore |publisher=National Library Board|access-date=4 February 2020|archive-date=4 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204130922/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_549_2004-12-28.html|url-status=live}} The 2020 election held in July saw the PAP drop to 61% of the vote, while the Workers' Party took 10 of the 93 seats, the highest number ever won by another party.{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/07/18/why-so-many-singaporeans-voted-for-the-opposition |title=Why so many Singaporeans voted for the opposition |newspaper=The Economist |date=18 July 2020 |access-date=20 July 2020 |archive-date=20 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720041203/https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/07/18/why-so-many-singaporeans-voted-for-the-opposition |url-status=live}}

On 15 May 2024, Lawrence Wong became Singapore's fourth Prime Minister; he is the first prime minister born after independence.{{cite news |url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-swear-lawrence-wong-prime-212009750.html |title=Singapore to swear in Lawrence Wong as new prime minister |website=Yahoo! News Singapore |date=14 May 2024 |agency=Agence France-Presse |access-date=15 May 2024 |archive-date=15 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515110042/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-swear-lawrence-wong-prime-212009750.html |url-status=live }} His first electoral test in the 2025 election saw the PAP winning 65.5% of the vote and 87 out of 97 seats in Parliament.{{cite web |last1=Sen |first1=Ng Jun |title=GE2025: Stunning victory for PAP, winning 87 of 97 seats with higher national vote share in PM Wong's first electoral test |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ge2025-pap-secures-victory-seats-opposition-challenge-5107201 |website=CNA |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |date=4 May 2025}}

{{Main|Government of Singapore|Politics of Singapore|Administrative divisions of Singapore}}

File:Istana (Singapore).jpg is the official residence and office of the president, as well as the working office of the prime minister.]]

File:Singapore Parliament House and Supreme Court 20220222 182616.jpg (left) and Parliament House (right) where the Singapore Parliament sits]]

File:Speakers' Corner, Singapore 20220218 081547.jpg at Hong Lim Park provides a public demonstration area, which are often restricted in other parts of the country.]]

Singapore is a parliamentary republic based on the Westminster system. The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of the country, establishing the structure and responsibility of governance. The President is the head of state.{{cite web |url=https://www.pmo.gov.sg/The-Government |title=PMO | the Government |date=8 July 2023 | access-date=27 August 2023 | archive-date=4 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804090931/https://www.pmo.gov.sg/The-Government | url-status=live}}{{cite book |editor-last=Morgan |editor-first=Grace |title=A Guide to the Singapore Constitution |date=2016 |url=https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=studentpub |publisher=Singapore Management University |pages=33–36 |access-date=28 October 2019 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220093159/https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=studentpub |url-status=live}} The governance of Singapore is separated into three branches:

• Executive: The executive consists of the Cabinet, led by the prime minister, and the Attorney-General's chambers, led by the attorney-general.{{cite web |url=https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/about-us/our-legal-system/#:~:text=The%20Executive%20includes%20the%20Cabinet,and%20is%20accountable%20to%20Parliament |title=Our Legal System | access-date=2 September 2023 | archive-date=2 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902052126/https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/about-us/our-legal-system/#:~:text=The%20Executive%20includes%20the%20Cabinet,and%20is%20accountable%20to%20Parliament | url-status=live}} The Cabinet is collectively responsible for all government policies and the day-to-day administration of the affairs of state. It is typically composed of members of the Singapore Parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president, and the ministers in the Cabinet and the attorney-general are appointed by the president, acting on the advice and consent of the prime minister. The prime minister is the effective head of the executive branch of government.{{cite web |url=https://www.pmo.gov.sg/The-Cabinet |title=PMO | the Cabinet |date=23 December 2022 | access-date=27 August 2023 | archive-date=25 April 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060425224718/http://www.cabinet.gov.sg/smgoh.htm | url-status=live}}
• Legislature: The Singapore Parliament is unicameral and, together with the president, comprises the legislature.{{Cite web |url=https://www.parliament.gov.sg/ |title=Home | Parliament of Singapore |access-date=28 October 2019 |archive-date=27 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027075322/https://www.parliament.gov.sg/ |url-status=live}} Members of parliament (MP) consist of elected, non-constituency, and nominated members. The majority of MPs are elected into parliament at a general election. The Singapore Parliament is collectively responsible for enacting the laws governing the state. The president holds limited discretionary powers of oversight over the government. The president's veto powers are further subject to parliamentary overruling.{{cite web |url=http://www.istana.gov.sg/content/istana/thepresident.html |title=The President |publisher=Singapore Government|access-date=26 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611130556/http://www.istana.gov.sg/content/istana/thepresident.html|archive-date=11 June 2011 |date=19 December 2010}}{{cite book |editor-last=Morgan |editor-first=Grace |title=A Guide to the Singapore Constitution |date=2016 |url=https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=studentpub |publisher=Singapore Management University |page=27 |access-date=28 October 2019 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220093159/https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=studentpub |url-status=live}}
• Judiciary: The judiciary's function is to independently administer justice and is headed by the chief justice of the Republic of Singapore. The judges and judicial commissioners are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.{{cite web |url=https://www.judiciary.gov.sg/who-we-are/role-structure-supreme-court/structure#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20Bench%20consists,advice%20of%20the%20Prime%20Minister |title=Role and structure of the Supreme Court – structure | access-date=2 September 2023 | archive-date=2 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402100003/https://www.judiciary.gov.sg/who-we-are/role-structure-supreme-court/structure#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20Bench%20consists,advice%20of%20the%20Prime%20Minister | url-status=live}} The Supreme Court and State Courts adjudicates in civil disputes between persons, convicts or acquits accused persons in criminal prosecutions, and interprets laws to decide on its constitutionality. Any law or provision of a law found to be unconstitutional can be struck down by the Supreme Court.{{cite book |editor-last=Morgan |editor-first=Grace |title=A Guide to the Singapore Constitution |date=2016 |url=https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=studentpub |publisher=Singapore Management University |pages=63–67 |access-date=28 October 2019 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220093159/https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=studentpub |url-status=live}}

The president is directly elected by popular vote for a renewable six-year term. Requirements for this position, which were enacted by the PAP government, are extremely stringent, such that only a handful of people qualify for the candidacy.{{cite book |last=Tan |first=Kevin Y.L. |date=2019 |chapter=Legislating Dominance: Parliament and the Making of Singapore's Governance Model |editor-last1=Rahim |editor-first1=Lily Zubaidah |editor-last2=Barr |editor-first2=Michael D. |title=The Limits of Authoritarian Governance in Singapore's Developmental State |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |page=264 |isbn=978-981-13-1555-8 |doi=10.1007/978-981-13-1556-5 |s2cid=239112493}}{{cite web |title=What are the Qualifications Required to Run for President in Singapore? |url=https://singaporelegaladvice.com/law-articles/singapore-president-qualifications/ |access-date=26 April 2022 |website=SingaporeLegalAdvice.com |language=en-US |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211001212/https://singaporelegaladvice.com/law-articles/singapore-president-qualifications |url-status=live}} These qualifications include that a candidate needs to be a person at least 45 years of age who is no longer a member of a political party, to either have held public office for at least 3 years in a number of specific public service leadership roles, or to have 3 years experience as chief executive of a fully profitable private sector company with at least S$500 million in shareholders' equity, be a resident in Singapore for at least 10 years, not have a criminal record, and more.{{cite web |title=Constitution of the Republic of Singapore – article 19 |url=https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CONS1963#pr19-|access-date=16 June 2021 |website=sso.agc.gov.sg|archive-date=28 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528030634/https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CONS1963#pr19-|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Elected Presidency: Higher eligibility criteria accepted, but Govt says no to longer qualifying terms |url=https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/elected-presidency-govt-agrees-raise-eligibility-criteria-private-sector-candidates |access-date=26 April 2022 |website=TODAY |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426173916/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/elected-presidency-govt-agrees-raise-eligibility-criteria-private-sector-candidates |url-status=live}} Candidates must also "satisfy" the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) that he or she is a person of integrity, good character and reputation.{{Cite web |url=https://www.eld.gov.sg/candidate_presidential_qualify.html |url-access= |title=Presidential Candidates: Qualifying Criteria |year=2024 |publisher=Elections Department Singapore |location=Singapore |access-date=20 November 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726012640/https://www.eld.gov.sg/candidate_presidential_qualify.html |archive-date=26 July 2024}}

From 2017, the Constitution requires that presidential elections be "reserved" for a racial community if no one from that ethnic group has been elected to the presidency in the five most recent terms.{{Cite web |title=Constitution of the Republic of Singapore – article 19B |url=https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CONS1963#pr19B-|access-date=16 June 2021 |website=sso.agc.gov.sg|archive-date=28 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528030634/https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CONS1963#pr19B-|url-status=live}} Only members of that community may qualify as candidates in a reserved presidential election.{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/halimah-yacob-named-singapore-malay-president-170913073940319.html |title=Halimah Yacob named Singapore's first female president |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=13 September 2017 |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=2 May 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190502112130/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/halimah-yacob-named-singapore-malay-president-170913073940319.html|url-status=live}} In the 2017 presidential election, this combination of stringent requirements and a reserved election that required the candidate to be of the 13% Malay ethnic group led to the PEC approving a single candidate for the presidency;{{cite news |date=16 September 2017 |title=Only one Singaporean is fit to be president |newspaper=The Economist |location=London |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2017/09/16/only-one-singaporean-is-fit-to-be-president |access-date=16 June 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210506175456/https://www.economist.com/asia/2017/09/16/only-one-singaporean-is-fit-to-be-president |archive-date=6 May 2021}} Halimah Yacob, considered part of the Malay community, won in an uncontested election. She also became Singapore's first female president.

Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected at least every five years (or sooner with a snap election). The 14th and current Parliament has 103 members; 93 were directly elected from the 31 constituencies, nine are nonpartisan nominated members appointed by the president, and three are non-constituency members from opposition parties who were not elected in the last general election but appointed to the legislature to increase opposition party representation. In group representation constituencies (GRCs), political parties assemble teams of candidates to contest elections. At least one MP in a GRC must be of an ethnic minority background. All elections are held using first-past-the-post voting.{{cite web |url=https://www.parliament.gov.sg/about-us/structure/members-of-parliament |title=Members of Parliament |publisher=Parliament of Singapore |access-date=9 October 2019 |archive-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216180443/https://www.parliament.gov.sg/about-us/structure/members-of-parliament |url-status=live}} MPs host weekly political surgeries, called "Meet-the-People Sessions", where they help constituents resolve personal issues which can be related to housing, financial assistance, and immigration.{{Cite web |last=Yong |first=Ng Tze |date=20 October 2008 |title=MP, I want help with... |url=http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/My+Money/Story/A1Story20081019-94743.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527135154/http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/My+Money/Story/A1Story20081019-94743.html |archive-date=27 May 2011 |access-date=20 October 2008 |website=asiaone}}

The People's Action Party occupies a dominant position in Singaporean politics, having won large parliamentary majorities in every election since self-governance was granted in 1959. The PAP, self-described as pragmatic, have a syncretic ideology combining free-market principles, civil nationalism, and welfarism.{{Cite journal |last=Tan |first=Kenneth Paul |date=2007 |title=Singapore's National Day Rally speech: A site of ideological negotiation |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00472330701408635 |journal=Journal of Contemporary Asia |language=en |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=292–308 |doi=10.1080/00472330701408635 |s2cid=145405958 |issn=0047-2336 |via=tandfonline |access-date=16 May 2023 |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022143043/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00472330701408635 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite book |last=Kuah-Pearce |first=Khun Eng |title=Rebuilding the Ancestral Village: Singaporeans in China |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-988-8053-66-7 |pages=37}}{{Cite web |last=Kerr |first=Roger |date=9 December 1999 |title=Optimism For the New Millennium |url=http://www.nzbr.org.nz/documents/speeches/speeches-99/optimism_for_the_new-millennium.doc.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060307184005/http://www.nzbr.org.nz/documents/speeches/speeches-99/optimism_for_the_new-millennium.doc.htm |archive-date=7 March 2006 |access-date=7 March 2006 |website=nzbr}} Despite promulgating restrictions on civil liberties, Singapore under the PAP has seen consistent economic growth and political stability.{{cite web |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2010&country=7915 |title=Freedom in the World 2010 – Singapore |publisher=Freedom House|access-date=12 June 2011|archive-date=7 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107002407/http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2010&country=7915|url-status=dead}} The most represented and popular opposition party is the centre-left Workers' Party, which holds 8 seats in Parliament.

The long-standing hegemony of the People's Action Party has led to Singapore being described by academics as an illiberal democracy,{{Cite journal |last1=Tan |first1=Netina |last2=Preece |first2=Cassandra |date=2024 |title=Democratic backsliding in illiberal Singapore |journal=Asian Journal of Comparative Politics |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=25–49 |doi=10.1177/20578911221141090 |doi-access=free}}Hussin Mutalib, Illiberal Democracy and the Future of Opposition in Singapore, Third World Quarterly Vol. 21, No. 2 (Apr. 2000), pp. 313–342 (30 pages), Published By: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.Verweij, Marco, and Riccardo Pelizzo. "Singapore: Does Authoritarianism Pay?". Journal of Democracy, vol. 20, no. 2, Apr. 2009, pp. 18–32.Huat, Chua Beng, 'Liberal Order's Illiberal Prodigy: Singapore as a Non-Liberal Electoral Democratic State', in Harry Verhoeven, and Anatol Lieven (eds), Beyond Liberal Order: States, Societies and Markets in the Global Indian Ocean (2022; online edn, Oxford Academic, 19 May 2022), https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197647950.003.0003. Retrieved 20 April 2024. or a soft-authoritarian state in which the PAP faces little to no feasible political competition to its rule of the country.Denny Roy, Singapore, China, and the "Soft Authoritarian" Challenge, Asian Survey, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Mar. 1994), pp. 231–242 (12 pages), Published By: University of California Press (JSTOR)Gordon Paul Means, Soft Authoritarianism in Malaysia and Singapore, Journal of Democracy, Johns Hopkins University Press, Volume 7, Number 4, October 1996, pp. 103–117{{Cite news |title=The invisible scars made by strikes of the cane |date=3 May 2015 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-invisible-scars-left-by-strikes-of-the-cane/a-18298970 |access-date=20 April 2024 |website=dw.com |publisher=Deutsche Welle |location=Bonn |first=Johan |last=von Mirbach |archive-date=20 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420140132/https://www.dw.com/en/the-invisible-scars-left-by-strikes-of-the-cane/a-18298970 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Vasagar |first=Jeevan |date=21 March 2022 |title=The Subtle Authoritarianism of Southeast Asia's Wealthiest City-State |url=https://lithub.com/the-subtle-authoritarianism-of-southeast-asias-wealthiest-city-state/ |access-date=20 April 2024 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US |archive-date=19 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419204944/https://lithub.com/the-subtle-authoritarianism-of-southeast-asias-wealthiest-city-state/ |url-status=live }} The multi-party democratic process of Singapore has been described as "minimal" in comparison to the state's focus on economic development and social order.Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir &Bryan S. Turner, Governing as gardening: reflections on soft authoritarianism in Singapore, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA and the University of Western Sydney, Australia, Pages 339–352 | Received 24 June 2011 According to Gordon P. Means, professor emeritus of political science at McMaster University, Singapore reinvented the "benevolent" yet "highly authoritarian" colonial system of governance inherited from Britain rather than forging a full democracy. A conservative ideology of "Asian values" evolved to replace British rule, based on "communal loyalty, distrust of government, and avoidance of individual or collective responsibility for wider public interests", with less regard for human rights in the nascent Western sense.{{Citation |last=Kent |first=Ann |title=Chinese Values and Human Rights |date=2008 |work=Human Rights in Asia: A Reassessment of the Asian Values Debate |pages=83–97 |editor-last=Avonius |editor-first=Leena |url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230615496_5 |access-date=18 June 2021 |place=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |language=en |doi=10.1057/9780230615496_5 |isbn=978-0-230-61549-6 |editor2-last=Kingsbury |editor2-first=Damien|url-access=subscription }} The fact that "neither the public nor elites had experience with democracy" helped create Singapore's political culture, as dominated by status-focused hierarchies committed to economic development. The legacy of Asian values and the limited political culture within Singapore has led to the country being described as "classic illustration of soft authoritarianism", and "profoundly illiberal".Huat, Chua Beng, 'Liberal Order's Illiberal Prodigy: Singapore as a Non-Liberal Electoral Democratic State', in Harry Verhoeven, and Anatol Lieven (eds), Beyond Liberal Order: States, Societies and Markets in the Global Indian Ocean (2022; online edn, Oxford Academic, 19 May 2022), https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197647950.003.0003. Retrieved 20 April 2024.

The judicial system is based on English common law, continuing the legal tradition established during British rule and with substantial local differences. Criminal law is based on the Indian Penal Code originally intended for British India, and was at the time as a crown colony also adopted by the British colonial authorities in Singapore and remains the basis of the criminal code in the country with a few exceptions, amendments and repeals since it came into force.{{cite journal |last=Peers |first=Douglas M. |date=2013 |editor-last1=Chan |editor-first1=Wing-Cheong |editor-last2=Wright |editor-first2=Barry |editor-last3=Yeo |editor-first3=Stanley |title=Codification, Macaulay and the Indian Penal Code: The Legacies and Modern Challenges of Criminal Law Reform |journal=Victorian Studies |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=749–751 |doi=10.2979/victorianstudies.55.4.749 |s2cid=144820395}} Trial by jury was abolished in 1970.{{cite web |url=http://www.singaporelaw.sg/content/LegalSyst.html |title=The Singapore Legal System |publisher=Singapore Academy of Law |date=25 September 2007 |access-date=10 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110123145140/http://www.singaporelaw.sg/content/LegalSyst.html |archive-date=23 January 2011}} Singapore is known for its strict laws and conservative stances on crime; both corporal punishment (by caning){{cite web |url=https://www.corpun.com/singfeat.htm |title=Judicial caning in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei |publisher=World Corporal Punishment Research |date=September 2012 |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-date=15 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115052445/http://www.corpun.com/singfeat.htm |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Kuntz |first=Tom |title=Ideas & Trends; Beyond Singapore: Corporal Punishment, A to Z |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/26/weekinreview/ideas-trends-beyond-singapore-corporal-punishment-a-to-z.html?scp=29&sq=%3Fpagewanted%3D1 |date=26 June 1994 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=18 February 2017 |archive-date=1 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701092056/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/26/weekinreview/ideas-trends-beyond-singapore-corporal-punishment-a-to-z.html?scp=29&sq=%3Fpagewanted%3D1 |url-status=live}} and capital punishment (by hanging) are retained and commonly used as legal penalties.{{cite web |url=http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1017.html#crime |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041230204937/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1017.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 December 2004 |title=Singapore country specific information |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=19 March 2010}}

The right to freedom of speech and association is guaranteed by Article 14(1) of the Constitution of Singapore, although there are provisions in the subsequent subsection that regulate them.{{Cite web |title=Constitution of the Republic of Singapore |website=Singapore Statutes Online |url=https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CONS1963 |access-date=28 May 2020 |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528030634/https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CONS1963 |url-status=live}} The government has restricted freedom of speech and freedom of the press as well as some civil and political rights.{{cite news |title=The government of Singapore says it welcomes criticism, but its critics still suffer |url=https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21718571-three-protesters-get-stiff-penalties-disturbing-public-order-government-singapore-says-it |date=9 March 2017 |newspaper=The Economist |location=London |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=13 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013172620/https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21718571-three-protesters-get-stiff-penalties-disturbing-public-order-government-singapore-says-it |url-status=live}} In 2023, Singapore was ranked 129th out of 180 nations by Reporters Without Borders on the global Press Freedom Index.{{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/singapore |title=Singapore boasts of being a model of economic development but it is an example of what not to be in regard to freedom of the press, which is almost non-existent. |date=16 June 2023 |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |access-date= 4 October 2023 |archive-date= 11 November 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191111004954/https://rsf.org/en/singapore |url-status= live}} Freedom House ranks Singapore as "partly free" in its Freedom in the World report,{{Cite web |title=Singapore: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore/freedom-world/2021 |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=Freedom House |archive-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228171300/https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore/freedom-world/2021 |url-status=live}} and the Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Singapore as a "flawed democracy", the second freest rank of four, in its "Democracy Index".{{cite web |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/singapore |title=Singapore |publisher=Freedom House |year=2013 |access-date=28 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140503011701/http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/singapore |archive-date=3 May 2014}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=democracy2018 |title=Democracy Index 2018: Me Too? |publisher=The Economist Intelligence Unit |location=London |date=8 January 2019 |url-access=registration |access-date=13 January 2019 |archive-date=2 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202212334/https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=Democracy2018 |url-status=live}} All public gatherings of five or more people require police permits, and protests may legally be held only at the Speakers' Corner.{{cite news |date=17 January 2009 |title=Singapore to toughen protest laws ahead of APEC meet |work=Reuters |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-37501620090117 |access-date=31 July 2012 |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127041924/https://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-37501620090117 |url-status=dead}}

In the Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks countries by "perceived levels of public sector corruption", Singapore has consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, in spite of being illiberal.{{cite web |url=https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018 |title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 |date=29 January 2019 |publisher=Transparency International |access-date= 27 April 2019 |archive-date= 27 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190427092026/https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018 |url-status= dead}} Singapore's unique combination of a strong, soft authoritarian government with an emphasis on meritocracy is known as the "Singapore model", and is regarded as a key factor behind Singapore's political stability, economic growth, and harmonious social order.{{cite journal |last1=Ortmann |first1=Stephan |last2=Thompson |first2=Mark R |title=China and the 'Singapore Model' |journal=Journal of Democracy |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=39–48 |date=January 2016 |url=http://www.journalofdemocracy.org/sites/default/files/Thompson-27-1.pdf |access-date=24 November 2016 |doi=10.1353/jod.2016.0004 |s2cid=155860923 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161104151140/http://www.journalofdemocracy.org/sites/default/files/Thompson-27-1.pdf |archive-date=4 November 2016 |url-status=dead}}{{cite journal |last=Huff |first=W G |title=What is the Singapore model of economic development? |journal=Cambridge Journal of Economics |volume=19 |pages=735–759 |year=1995 |url=http://cje.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/6/735.full.pdf+html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110214102853/http://cje.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/6/735.full.pdf+html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 February 2011 |access-date=24 November 2016}}{{Cite book |title=From third world to first: The Singapore story, 1965–2000 |author=Lee Kuan Yew |publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia |year=2012}}{{cite web |title=2021 Corruption Perceptions Index – Explore the results |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021 |website=Transparency.org |date=25 January 2022 |access-date=17 February 2022 |archive-date=19 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619115004/https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021 |url-status=live}} In 2021, the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index ranked Singapore as 17th overall among the world's 193 countries for adherence to the rule of law. Singapore ranked high on the factors of order and security (#3), absence of corruption (#3), regulatory enforcement (#4), civil justice (#8), and criminal justice (#7), and ranked significantly lower on factors of open government (#34), constraints on government powers (#32), and fundamental rights (#38).{{cite web |url=https://www.worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/pdfs/2021-Singapore.pdf |publisher=World Justice Project |title=Rule of Law Index |date=2021 |access-date=28 July 2022 |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808020739/https://www.worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/pdfs/2021-Singapore.pdf |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Foreign relations of Singapore}}

File:2017 G20 Hamburg summit leaders group photo.jpg at the 2017 G20 meeting in Germany. Since 2010, Singapore has often been invited to participate in G20 processes.]]

Singapore's stated foreign policy priority is maintaining security in Southeast Asia and surrounding territories. An underlying principle is political and economic stability in the region.{{cite web |url=http://dfat.gov.au/geo/singapore/pages/singapore-country-brief.aspx |title=Singapore country brief |publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade|access-date=15 November 2016|archive-date=8 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200308165300/https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/singapore/Pages/singapore-country-brief.aspx|url-status=live}} It has diplomatic relations with more than 180 sovereign states.{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.sg/content/mfa/missions/singapore_mission/mission_locator.html |title=Singapore Missions Overseas |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs|access-date=27 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315105110/https://www.mfa.gov.sg/content/mfa/missions/singapore_mission/mission_locator.html|archive-date=15 March 2018|url-status=dead}}

As one of the five founding members of ASEAN,{{cite web |url=http://www.asean.org/64.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109233326/http://www.asean.org/64.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 January 2008 |title=Overview |publisher=ASEAN |year=2009|access-date=18 February 2011}} Singapore is a strong supporter of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA); it is also the host of the APEC Secretariat.{{cite web |title=APEC is established |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/4ba73ec1-69e6-4951-b9ea-339878da2f6c |publisher=National Library Board|access-date=4 July 2018|archive-date=4 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704130149/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/4ba73ec1-69e6-4951-b9ea-339878da2f6c|url-status=live}} Singapore is also a founding member of The Forum of Small States (FOSS), a voluntary and informal grouping at the UN.{{Cite book |title=50 Years of Singapore and the United Nations |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-981-4713-03-0 |year=2015}}access-date=7 March 2024

Singapore maintains membership in other regional organisations, such as Asia–Europe Meeting, the Forum for East Asia-Latin American Cooperation, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, and the East Asia Summit. It is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement,{{cite web |url=http://www.nam.gov.za/background/members.htm |title=NAM Member States |publisher=The Non-Aligned Movement |date=23 January 2002|access-date=18 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209233514/http://www.nam.gov.za/background/members.htm|archive-date=9 December 2010}} the United Nations and the Commonwealth.{{cite web |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/142227/members/ |title=Member States |publisher=Commonwealth Secretariat|access-date=18 February 2011|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225120634/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/member-countries|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Histories and Milestones |url=https://www.mfa.gov.sg/About-MFA/Histories-and-Milestones |website=MFA |access-date=5 October 2019 |archive-date=13 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813043915/https://www.mfa.gov.sg/About-MFA/Histories-and-Milestones |url-status=live}} While Singapore is not a formal member of the G20, it has been invited to participate in G20 processes in most years since 2010.{{cite web |title=G20 |url=https://www.mfa.gov.sg/content/mfa/international_organisation_initiatives/g20.html |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs|access-date=26 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917121540/https://www.mfa.gov.sg/content/mfa/international_organisation_initiatives/g20.html|archive-date=17 September 2018|url-status=dead}} Singapore is also the location of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Secretariat.{{cite web |title=PECC – PECC :: The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council – International Secretariat |url=https://www.pecc.org/about/pecc-international-secretariat |website=pecc.org|access-date=19 September 2018|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217104736/https://www.pecc.org/about/pecc-international-secretariat|url-status=dead}}

In general, bilateral relations with other ASEAN members are strong; however, disagreements have arisen,{{cite web |url=http://www.asean.fta.govt.nz/singapore-foreign-relations|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802111923/http://www.asean.fta.govt.nz/singapore-foreign-relations|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 August 2009 |title=Australia – New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) |publisher=New Zealand Government |date=4 December 2008|access-date=18 February 2011}} and relations with neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia have sometimes been strained.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/174284.stm |title=Malaysia and Singapore: A rocky relationship |publisher=BBC News |date=18 September 1998 |first=Rob |last=Gifford|access-date=10 April 2011|archive-date=12 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512052729/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/174284.stm|url-status=live}} Malaysia and Singapore have clashed over the delivery of fresh water to Singapore,{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2070.html |title=World Factbook – Field Listing: International disputes |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=18 February 2011|archive-date=14 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514215411/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2070.html|url-status=dead}} and access by the Singapore Armed Forces to Malaysian airspace. Border issues exist with Malaysia and Indonesia, and both have banned the sale of marine sand to Singapore over disputes about Singapore's land reclamation.{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1527751.ece |title=Singapore accused of land grab as islands disappear by boatload |first=Richard |last=Lloyd Parry |work=The Times |location=London |date=17 March 2007|url-access=subscription|access-date=10 April 2011|archive-date=10 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510021433/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1527751.ece|url-status=dead}} Some previous disputes, such as the Pedra Branca dispute, have been resolved by the International Court of Justice.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7416473.stm |title=Court awards islet to Singapore |publisher=BBC News |date=23 May 2008|access-date=6 September 2017|archive-date=26 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526023618/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7416473.stm|url-status=live}} Piracy in the Strait of Malacca has been a cause of concern for all three countries. Close economic ties exist with Brunei, and the two share a pegged currency value, through a Currency Interchangeability Agreement between the two countries which makes both Brunei dollar and Singapore dollar banknotes and coins legal tender in either country.{{cite web |url=http://www.mas.gov.sg/currency/currency-interchangeability-agreement-with-brunei.aspx |title=Currency Interchangeability Agreement – Brunei Notes and Coins |author=Reading Room|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628004840/http://www.mas.gov.sg/Currency/Currency-Interchangeability-Agreement-with-Brunei.aspx|archive-date=28 June 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.asean.fta.govt.nz/brunei-foreign-and-trade|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908043151/http://asean.fta.govt.nz/brunei-foreign-and-trade/|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 September 2009 |title=Brunei Foreign and Trade Relations: ASEAN |publisher=New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade |date=14 January 2009|access-date=18 February 2011}}

The first diplomatic contact with China was made in the 1970s, with full diplomatic relations established in the 1990s. China has been Singapore's largest trading partner since 2013, after surpassing Malaysia.{{cite news |title=Singapore Business Federation aims for over 100 local firms to take part in first China International Import Expo |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/sbf-to-lead-singapore-companies-taking-part-in-first-china-international-import |work=The Straits Times |date=22 February 2018|access-date=24 February 2018|archive-date=24 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224024854/http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/sbf-to-lead-singapore-companies-taking-part-in-first-china-international-import|url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Singapore, China leaders laud deep, growing ties |url=http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/china/singapore-china-leaders-laud-deep-growing-ties |work=Today |location=Singapore|access-date=24 February 2018|archive-date=25 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225064808/http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/china/singapore-china-leaders-laud-deep-growing-ties|url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Singapore and China's common interest 'greater than any occasional difference of views': DPM Teo |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-and-china-s-common-interest-greater-than-any-8878812 |date=24 May 2017 |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore|access-date=24 February 2018|archive-date=25 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225144654/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-and-china-s-common-interest-greater-than-any-8878812|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |title=Singapore a 'strong supporter' of China's peaceful development |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/spore-a-strong-supporter-of-chinas-peaceful-development |work=The Straits Times |date=25 May 2017 |location=Singapore|access-date=24 February 2018|archive-date=24 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224192152/http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/spore-a-strong-supporter-of-chinas-peaceful-development|url-status=live}}{{cite news |author=Zhang Xuegang |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90780/91342/6306042.html |title=Opening 'window of opportunity' for China-Singapore cooperation |newspaper=People's Daily |location=Beijing |date=20 November 2007|access-date=31 July 2012|archive-date=6 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806190236/http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90780/91342/6306042.html|url-status=live}} Singapore and the United States share a long-standing close relationship, in particular in defence, the economy, health, and education. Singapore has also increased co-operation with ASEAN members and China to strengthen regional security and fight terrorism, and participated in ASEAN's first joint maritime exercise with China in 2018.{{cite news |title=Asean to step up terror fight, hold naval drill with China |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/asean-to-step-up-terror-fight-hold-naval-drill-with-china |work=The Straits Times |date=7 February 2018|access-date=24 February 2018|archive-date=24 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224173554/http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/asean-to-step-up-terror-fight-hold-naval-drill-with-china|url-status=live}} It has also given support to the US-led coalition to fight terrorism, with bilateral co-operation in counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation initiatives, and joint military exercises.

As Singapore has diplomatic relations with both the United States and North Korea, and was one of the few countries that have relationships with both countries,{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Yen Nee |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/08/why-trump-and-kim-picked-singapore-for-meeting.html |title=White House explains why it chose Singapore to host summit with North Korea |publisher=CNBC |date=8 June 2018|access-date=12 June 2018|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612095227/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/08/why-trump-and-kim-picked-singapore-for-meeting.html|url-status=live}} in June 2018, it hosted a historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the first-ever meeting between the sitting leaders of the two nations.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-kim-jong-un-meeting-summit/ |title=President Trump meets Kim Jong Un: Live updates |date=11 June 2018|access-date=12 June 2018 |publisher=CNN|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612032648/https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-kim-jong-un-meeting-summit/|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44435035 |title=Trump and Kim make history with a handshake |date=12 June 2018 |publisher=BBC News|access-date=12 June 2018|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612000737/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44435035|url-status=live}} It also hosted the Ma–Xi meeting in 2015, the first meeting between the political leaders of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1950.{{cite news |last1=Yin |first1=Chun-chieh |last2=Lee |first2=Mei-yu |title=Ma, Xi to split dinner bill in Singapore |url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/acs/201511040053.aspx|access-date=7 November 2015 |agency=Central News Agency |date=4 November 2015|archive-date=7 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107003747/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/acs/201511040053.aspx|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Shu-hua |last2=Chang |first2=S.C |title=President Ma to meet China's Xi in Singapore Saturday (update) |url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/afav/201511040001.aspx|access-date=4 November 2015 |agency=Central News Agency|archive-date=7 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107010003/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/afav/201511040001.aspx|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |last1=Perlez |first1=Jane |last2=Ramzy |first2=Austin |title=China, Taiwan and a Meeting After 66 Years |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/world/asia/leaders-of-china-and-taiwan-to-meet-for-first-time-since-1949.html?_r=0|access-date=1 November 2017 |work=The New York Times |date=4 November 2015|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107043747/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/world/asia/leaders-of-china-and-taiwan-to-meet-for-first-time-since-1949.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Singapore Armed Forces}}

File:Flag lowering by Singapore troops, Kiwi Base, Bamyan Province, Afghanistan - 20101027.jpg

The Singaporean military, arguably the most technologically advanced in Southeast Asia,{{cite news |url=http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jdw/jdw100118_2_n.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123194946/http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jdw/jdw100118_2_n.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 January 2010 |first=Trefor |last=Moss |date=18 January 2010 |title=Buying an advantage |location=London |work=Jane's Defence Review}} consists of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Digital and Intelligence Service. It is seen as the guarantor of the country's independence,{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/285586/1/.html |title=SAF remains final guarantor of Singapore's independence |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |date=1 July 2007|access-date=19 February 2011|archive-date=16 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516092109/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/285586/1/.html|url-status=dead}} translating into Singapore culture, involving all citizens in the country's defence.{{cite press release |url=http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news_and_events/nr/2005/apr/21apr05_nr2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024173928/http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news_and_events/nr/2005/apr/21apr05_nr2.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 October 2007 |title=Lunch Talk on "Defending Singapore: Strategies for a Small State" by Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean |publisher=Ministry of Defence |date=21 April 2005|access-date=19 February 2011}} The government spent 2.7% of the country's GDP on the military in 2024, the highest in the region.{{Cite journal |year=2024 |title=International Comparisons of Defence Expenditure and Military Personnel |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/04597222.2024.2298600 |journal=The Military Balance |language=en |volume=124 |issue=1 |pages=542–547 |doi=10.1080/04597222.2024.2298600 |issn=0459-7222 |access-date=21 October 2024 |archive-date=15 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315180704/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/04597222.2024.2298600 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}

After its independence, Singapore had only two infantry regiments commanded by British officers. Considered too small to provide effective security for the new country, the development of its military forces became a priority.{{cite web |url=http://cs.uwec.edu/~tan/saf_israel.htm |first=Amnon |last=Barzilai |title=A Deep, Dark, Secret Love Affair |via=University of Wisconsin |publisher=Haaretz |date=July 2004|access-date=19 February 2011|archive-date=3 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503151338/http://cs.uwec.edu/~tan/saf_israel.htm|url-status=dead}} In addition, in October 1971, Britain pulled its military out of Singapore, leaving behind only a small British, Australian and New Zealand force as a token military presence.{{cite web |url=http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1001_2009-02-10.html |title=British withdrawal from Singapore |last1=Omar |first1=Marsita |author2=Chan Fook Weng |publisher=National Library Board |date=31 December 2007|access-date=24 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621034333/http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1001_2009-02-10.html|archive-date=21 June 2012}} A great deal of initial support came from Israel, a country unrecognised by Singapore's neighbouring Muslim-majority nations of Malaysia and Indonesia.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5262490.stm |title=Israel alarm at UN force members |publisher=BBC News|access-date=12 October 2011 |date=18 August 2006|archive-date=10 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710063850/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5262490.stm|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/israeldiplomacy.htm |title=Diplomatic and Foreign Relations of Israel |last=Rosenberg |first=Matt |publisher=About.com|access-date=12 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115055734/http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/israeldiplomacy.htm|archive-date=15 January 2012}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14324943.stm |title=Malaysian FA apologises to Benayoun over racist abuse |publisher=BBC News|access-date=12 October 2011 |date=29 July 2011|archive-date=22 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110922150051/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14324943.stm|url-status=live}} The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commanders were tasked by the Singapore Government to create the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) from scratch, and Israeli instructors were brought in to train Singaporean soldiers. Military courses were conducted according to the IDF's format, and Singapore adopted a system of conscription and reserve service based on the Israeli model. Singapore still maintains strong security ties with Israel and is one of the biggest buyers of Israeli arms and weapons systems,{{cite encyclopedia |title=Jewish Virtual History Tour: Singapore |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/singapore.html |encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library |date=n.d.|access-date=13 October 2011|archive-date=21 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021022601/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/singapore.html|url-status=live}} with one recent example being the MATADOR anti-tank weapon.{{cite news |url=http://www.palestine-studies.org/files/pdf/jps/10341.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928203037/http://www.palestine-studies.org/files/pdf/jps/10341.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 September 2011 |page=186 |title=The Israeli Arsenal Deployed Against Gaza During Operation Cast Lead |publisher=Institute of Palestine Studies|access-date=10 July 2012}}

The SAF is being developed to respond to a wide range of issues in both conventional and unconventional warfare. The Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) is responsible for procuring resources for the military.{{cite press release |url=http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/resources/speeches/2008/18feb08_speech2.html |title=Speech by Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen |publisher=Ministry of Defence |date=18 February 2008|access-date=19 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706061748/https://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/resources/speeches/2008/18feb08_speech2.html|archive-date=6 July 2017}} The geographic restrictions of Singapore mean that the SAF must plan to fully repulse an attack, as they cannot fall back and re-group. The small size of the population has also affected the way the SAF has been designed, with a small active force and a large number of reserves.

File:Black Knight Singapore 1 (12537881585).jpg Black Knights perform at the Singapore Air Show.]]

Singapore has conscription for all able-bodied males at age 18, except those with a criminal record or who can prove that their loss would bring hardship to their families. Males who have yet to complete pre-university education, are awarded the Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship, or are pursuing a local medical degree can opt to defer their draft.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ifaq.gov.sg/psc/apps/fcd_faqmain.aspx?qst=hRhkP9BzcBImsx2TBbssMsxu7lqt6UJK70a1wAEVmyfJ/9fD+N3Xh91Jn0PApSDm/aN8CquE8nH1geMJKOWjpzbUjH0AmXCKue8129xmykRnvPWRXqhAiqq/p2+DIk7rwqacOZ24JcT155e21ebq4c96ux0/vPsuSqtx7Jz7a2+iWlOIPE0B7hwtjPk5NBv45Vo1MFXlZX+doyOmGlWEaFaxh9f9AbES12gldHviYxg=#FAQ_34230 |title=PSC – FAQs |website=ifaq.gov.sg|access-date=11 August 2018|archive-date=11 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811133352/http://www.ifaq.gov.sg/psc/apps/fcd_faqmain.aspx?qst=hRhkP9BzcBImsx2TBbssMsxu7lqt6UJK70a1wAEVmyfJ/9fD+N3Xh91Jn0PApSDm/aN8CquE8nH1geMJKOWjpzbUjH0AmXCKue8129xmykRnvPWRXqhAiqq/p2+DIk7rwqacOZ24JcT155e21ebq4c96ux0/vPsuSqtx7Jz7a2+iWlOIPE0B7hwtjPk5NBv45Vo1MFXlZX+doyOmGlWEaFaxh9f9AbES12gldHviYxg=#FAQ_34230|url-status=dead}}{{cite conference |url=https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/email/link/?id=008_20111020_S0007_T0005&fullContentFlag=false |title=Deferment of National Service for Medical Studies |date=20 October 2011 |pages=341–345 |conference=Singapore Parliament |access-date=6 July 2022 |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812050022/https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/email/link/?id=008_20111020_S0007_T0005&fullContentFlag=false |url-status=live}} Though not required to perform military service, the number of women in the SAF has been increasing: since 1989 they have been allowed to fill military vocations formerly reserved for men. Before induction into a specific branch of the armed forces, recruits undergo at least nine weeks of basic military training.{{cite web |url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-11917.html |title=Singapore – Recruitment and Training of Personnel |publisher=Country-data.com |date=December 1989|access-date=19 February 2011|archive-date=30 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930170849/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-11917.html|url-status=live}}

Because of the scarcity of open land on the main island, training involving activities such as live firing and amphibious warfare are often carried out on smaller islands, typically barred to civilian access. However, large-scale drills, considered too dangerous to be performed in the country, have been performed in other countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand and the United States. In general, military exercises are held with foreign forces once or twice per week. Due to airspace and land constraints, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) maintains a number of overseas bases in Australia, the United States, and France. The RSAF's 130 Squadron is based in RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia,{{cite web |url=http://www.airforce.gov.au/bases/pearce.aspx |publisher=Royal Australian Air Force |title=RAAF Base Pearce|access-date=12 October 2011 |year=2011|archive-date=23 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623043012/http://www.airforce.gov.au/bases/Pearce.aspx|url-status=live}} and its 126 Squadron is based in the Oakey Army Aviation Centre, Queensland.{{cite press release |url=http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news_and_events/nr/1999/aug/20aug99_nr.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313052830/http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news_and_events/nr/1999/aug/20aug99_nr.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 March 2006 |title=Opening Ceremony of the RSAF Helicopter Detachment in Oakey, Australia|access-date=5 July 2013 |date=20 August 1999 |publisher=Ministry of Defence}} The RSAF has one squadron—the 150 Squadron—based in Cazaux Air Base in southern France.{{cite web |url=http://www.mindef.gov.sg/cyberpioneer/backissuessep1.htm |title=Beyond Limits – Jet Training in France|access-date=12 October 2011 |year=2011 |publisher=Ministry of Defence|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625180014/http://www.mindef.gov.sg/cyberpioneer/backissuessep1.htm|archive-date=25 June 2007}} The RSAF's overseas detachments in the United States are: Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, Marana in Arizona, Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, and Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.{{cite web |url=https://www.acc.af.mil/News/story/id/123178824/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114033730/http://www.acc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123178824|url-status=live|archive-date=14 November 2012 |title=Singapore celebrates Peace Carvin V partnership with U.S. Air Force|access-date=5 July 2013 |date=23 November 2009 |last=Reif |first=Jasmine |publisher=U.S. Air Combat Command}}{{cite news |url=http://160.96.2.142/content/pmosite/mediacentre/inthenews/primeminister/2010/July/pm_gets_feel_of_rsafsnewjetatusbase.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130705185326/http://160.96.2.142/content/pmosite/mediacentre/inthenews/primeminister/2010/July/pm_gets_feel_of_rsafsnewjetatusbase.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 July 2013 |title=PM gets feel of RSAF's new jet at US base|access-date=5 July 2013 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=13 July 2010 |author=Chua Chin Hon}}{{Cite news |last=Yong |first=Charissa |date=7 December 2019 |title=Singapore and United States sign pact to set up RSAF fighter training detachment in Guam |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-and-united-states-sign-pact-to-set-up-rsaf-fighter-training-detachment-in-guam |access-date=18 February 2021 |website=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |archive-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214045849/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-and-united-states-sign-pact-to-set-up-rsaf-fighter-training-detachment-in-guam |url-status=live}}

The SAF has sent forces to assist in operations outside the country, in areas such as Iraq,{{cite news |url=http://www.singapore-window.org/sw03/031027af.htm |title=Singapore to send 192 military personnel to Iraq |work=Singapore Window |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=7 October 2003 |access-date=19 February 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080906155446/http://www.singapore-window.org/sw03/031027af.htm |archive-date=6 September 2008 |url-status=dead}} and Afghanistan,{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/75-saf-soldiers-honoured-for-contributions-in-fight-against-isis |title=75 SAF soldiers honoured for contributions in fight against ISIS |date=9 October 2017 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |access-date=17 August 2018 |archive-date=6 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706132449/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/75-saf-soldiers-honoured-for-contributions-in-fight-against-isis |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/276527/1/.html |title=SAF to provide medical aid, set up dental clinic in Afghanistan |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |date=16 May 2007 |access-date=19 February 2011 |archive-date=8 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208212623/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/276527/1/.html |url-status=dead}} in both military and civilian roles. In the region, they have helped to stabilise East Timor{{cite press release |author= |title=Official Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, 23 to 27 July |url=https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2023/07/FM-Visit-Timor-Leste#:~:text=Singapore%20was%20amongst%20the%20first,the%20East%20Timor%20Police%20Service. |location=Singapore |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore |date=24 July 2023 |access-date=20 November 2024 |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203040654/https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2023/07/FM-Visit-Timor-Leste#:~:text=Singapore%20was%20amongst%20the%20first,the%20East%20Timor%20Police%20Service. |url-status=live }} and have provided aid to Aceh in Indonesia following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.{{cite report |first1=Sharon |last1=Wiharta |first2=Hassan |last2=Ahmad |first3=Jean-Yves |last3=Halne |first4=Josefina |last4=Löfgren |first5=Tim |last5=Randall |year=2008 |chapter=Case study: Indian Ocean tsunami, Aceh province, Indonesia, 2004 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/files/misc/FMA/SIPRI08FMA.pdf |title=The Effectiveness of Foreign Military Assets in Natural Disaster Response |publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |pages=87–99 |isbn=978-91-85114-57-3 |access-date=20 November 2024}} Since 2009, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has deployed ships to the Gulf of Aden to aid in countering piracy efforts as part of Task Force 151.{{cite news |last1=Chow |first1=Jermyn |title=Singapore sends 151 servicemen to join anti-piracy patrols in Gulf of Aden |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-sends-151-servicemen-to-join-anti-piracy-patrols-in-gulf-of-aden |access-date=5 December 2020 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=17 March 2014 |archive-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710191320/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-sends-151-servicemen-to-join-anti-piracy-patrols-in-gulf-of-aden |url-status=live}} The SAF also helped in relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina,{{cite web |url=http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/katrina.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20051025202249/http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/katrina.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 October 2005 |title=Katrina Relief Operations |access-date=12 October 2011 |year=2011 |publisher=Ministry of Defence}} and Typhoon Haiyan.{{cite news |title=RSAF C-130 arrives in Cebu to assist relief efforts |url=https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/rsaf-c-130-arrives-cebu-assist-relief-efforts |access-date=5 December 2020 |work=Today |location=Singapore |date=14 November 2013 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414153225/https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/rsaf-c-130-arrives-cebu-assist-relief-efforts |url-status=live}} Singapore is part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), a military alliance with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, Singapore is the 5th most peaceful country in the world.{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf |access-date=11 August 2024 |archive-date=19 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240819091540/https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Human rights in Singapore}}

{{See also|Abortion in Singapore|Capital punishment in Singapore|LGBT rights in Singapore}}

Capital punishment is a legal and enforced penalty in Singapore. The country is one of four in the developed world to retain the death penalty, along with the United States, Japan and Taiwan. Particularly, its use against drug trafficking has been a source of contention with non-governmental organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.{{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/11/singapore-imminent-unlawful-execution-for-drug-trafficking-must-be-halted/ |title=Singapore: Imminent unlawful execution for drug trafficking must be halted |date=20 November 2024 |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=20 November 2024}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/10/09/singapore-moves-further-out-step-death-penalty |title=Singapore Moves Further Out of Step on Death Penalty |last=Newton |first=Robbie |date=9 October 2024 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=20 November 2024 |archive-date=9 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009233958/https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/10/09/singapore-moves-further-out-step-death-penalty |url-status=live }} The government has responded that it has "no doubts" that it is the right policy and that there is "clear evidence" of serious deterrence, and that the law should be looked at upon in the wider context of "saving lives", particularly citizens.{{cite news |title=No doubts that death penalty is the right policy for drug trafficking: Shanmugam |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/no-doubts-death-penalty-right-policy-drug-trafficking-shanmugam-2776746 |website=CNA |access-date=30 June 2022 |date=30 June 2022 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630043613/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/no-doubts-death-penalty-right-policy-drug-trafficking-shanmugam-2776746 |url-status=live}} In 2004, Amnesty International claimed that some legal provisions of the Singapore system for the death penalty conflict with "the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty".{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA36/001/2004&lang=e |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120113025257/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA36/001/2004%26lang%3De |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2012 |title=Singapore: The death penalty – A hidden toll of executions |publisher=Amnesty International |year=2003 |access-date=1 May 2011}} The government has disputed Amnesty's claims, stating that their "position on abolition of the death penalty is by no means uncontested internationally" and that the report contains "grave errors of facts and misrepresentations".{{cite press release |title=The Singapore Government's Response To Amnesty International's Report 'Singapore – The Death Penalty: A Hidden Toll Of Executions' |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs |url=http://www.mha.gov.sg/basic_content.aspx?pageid=74 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071114130039/http://www.mha.gov.sg/basic_content.aspx?pageid=74 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 November 2007 |date=30 January 2004 |access-date=22 April 2010}}

From 1938 to 2023, sexual relations between men were technically illegal under Section 377A of the Penal Code, first introduced during British colonial rule.{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/government-has-not-curbed-public-prosecutors-discretion-for-section-377a-ag |title=Government has not curbed public prosecutor's discretion for Section 377A: A-G Lucien Wong |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=2 October 2018 |last=Wong |first=Jonathan |access-date=12 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004145050/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/government-has-not-curbed-public-prosecutors-discretion-for-section-377a-ag |archive-date=4 October 2018|url-status=live}} During the last few decades, this law was mostly unenforced and pressure to repeal it increased as homosexuality became more accepted by Singaporean society.{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/court-of-appeal-rules-section-377a-stays-but-cannot-be-used-to-prosecute-men-for-having-gay-sex |title=Court of Appeal rules Section 377A stays but cannot be used to prosecute men for having gay sex |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |first=Selina |last=Lum |date=28 February 2022 |access-date=30 June 2022 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630120101/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/court-of-appeal-rules-section-377a-stays-but-cannot-be-used-to-prosecute-men-for-having-gay-sex |url-status=live}} Meanwhile, sexual relations between women had always been legal.{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/government-has-not-curbed-public-prosecutors-discretion-for-section-377a-ag |title=Government has not curbed public prosecutor's discretion for Section 377A: A-G Lucien Wong |work=The Straits Times |date=2 October 2018 |last=Wong |first=Jonathan|access-date=16 April 2019|archive-date=4 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004145050/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/government-has-not-curbed-public-prosecutors-discretion-for-section-377a-ag|url-status=live}} In 2022, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore would repeal 377A, effectively decriminalising homosexual behaviour. Nevertheless, he added that the repeal will not affect the recognition of "traditional familial and societal norms," including how marriage is defined, leaving the legal status of same-sex marriage unchanged for the time, although the possibility of civil unions was not officially ruled out.{{cite news |date=21 August 2022 |title=Singapore to decriminalize gay sex, but will limit change |url=https://apnews.com/article/gay-rights-constitutions-marriage-singapore-lee-hsien-loong-6ab5c85aa54c509a2115c05dc6682628 |access-date=21 August 2022 |publisher=Associated Press |archive-date=21 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821160041/https://apnews.com/article/gay-rights-constitutions-marriage-singapore-lee-hsien-loong-6ab5c85aa54c509a2115c05dc6682628 |url-status=live}} Lee described this as a compromise between the conservative (and often religious) and progressive elements of Singaporean society to prevent further political fracturing.{{cite news |date=21 August 2022 |title=377A: Singapore to end ban on gay sex |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62545577 |access-date=21 August 2022 |archive-date=21 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821130914/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62545577 |url-status=live}} The law was officially repealed on 3 January 2023.{{Cite news |last=Han |first=Goh Yan |date=3 January 2023 |title=S377A officially repealed after President Halimah gives assent to Bill |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/s377a-officially-repealed-as-president-assents-to-changes-to-legislation |access-date=27 January 2024 |work=The Straits Times |language=en |issn=0585-3923 |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725103316/http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/s377a-officially-repealed-as-president-assents-to-changes-to-legislation |url-status=live }}

Pink Dot SG, an event held in support of the LGBT community, has drawn thousands of people annually since 2009 with increasing attendance.{{Cite web |date=25 June 2020 |title=Views of Homosexuality Around the World |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/06/25/global-divide-on-homosexuality-persists/ |access-date=12 July 2021 |website=Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701105248/https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/06/25/global-divide-on-homosexuality-persists/ |url-status=live}} According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies in 2019, Singaporean society has become more liberal on LGBT rights. In the survey, more than 20% of people said that sexual relations between adults of the same sex were not wrong at all or not wrong most of the time, up from 10% in 2013. The survey found that 27% felt the same way about same-sex marriage (an increase from 15% in 2013) and 30% did so about same-sex couples adopting a child (an increase from 24% in 2013).{{cite news |date=3 May 2019 |title=Greater public acceptance of gay sex and marriage: Survey |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/greater-public-acceptance-of-gay-sex-and-marriage-survey |url-status=live |access-date=12 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605181541/https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/greater-public-acceptance-of-gay-sex-and-marriage-survey |archive-date=5 June 2019}}{{cite news |last=Yuen-C |first=Tham |date=2 May 2019 |title=Singapore society still largely conservative but becoming more liberal on gay rights: IPS survey |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/singapore-society-still-largely-conservative-but-becoming-more-liberal-on-gay-rights-ips |url-status=live |access-date=12 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605181337/https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/singapore-society-still-largely-conservative-but-becoming-more-liberal-on-gay-rights-ips |archive-date=5 June 2019}} In 2021, six Singaporeans protested for improved trans protections in the educational system outside the Ministry of Education headquarters at Buona Vista.{{cite news |last1=Shiying |first1=Wong |date=30 November 2021 |title=Six given police warnings for involvement in protest outside MOE headquarters |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/six-given-police-warnings-for-involvement-in-protest-outside-moe-headquarters |access-date=28 June 2022 |archive-date=28 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628213457/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/six-given-police-warnings-for-involvement-in-protest-outside-moe-headquarters |url-status=live}}

Pimps often traffic women from neighbouring countries such as China, Malaysia and Vietnam at their brothels as well as rented apartments and hostels for higher profit margins when they get a cut from customers.{{cite news |url=https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/how-14-year-old-girl-was-trafficked-singapore-and-locked |title=How a 14-year-old girl was trafficked to Singapore and locked up |date=2017 |website=Asia One|access-date=12 April 2020|archive-date=12 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412141723/https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/how-14-year-old-girl-was-trafficked-singapore-and-locked|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/trafficking-singapore-labour-crime-boat-quay-justice-victims-12423400 |title='She had lost all reason to live': Undoing the horrors of being trafficked to Singapore and seeking justice |date=15 February 2020 |website=cna|access-date=12 April 2020|archive-date=12 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412163911/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/trafficking-singapore-labour-crime-boat-quay-justice-victims-12423400|url-status=live}} In response, amendments were made to the Women's Charter by the government in 2019 to legislate more serious punishments for traffickers, including imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of S$100,000.{{cite news |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/prostitution-sex-work-human-trafficking-singapore-womens-charter-12061526 |title=Sex trafficking in Singapore: How changes to the law may protect women duped into prostitution |date=10 November 2019 |website=CNA|access-date=12 April 2020|archive-date=12 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412142127/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/prostitution-sex-work-human-trafficking-singapore-womens-charter-12061526|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Economy of Singapore}}

File:Marina Bay, Financial District and Singapore River (35622190292).jpg]]

Singapore has a highly developed market economy, based historically on extended entrepôt trade. Along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan, Singapore is one of the Four Asian Tigers, and has surpassed its peers in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Between 1965 and 1995, growth rates averaged around 6 per cent per annum, transforming the living standards of the population.{{cite book |last=Baten |first=Jörg |title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=292 |isbn=978-1-107-50718-0}}

The Singaporean economy is regarded as free,{{cite news |last=Li |first=Dickson |url=http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/My+Money/Story/A1Story20100201-195831.html |title=Singapore is most open economy: Report |work=Asiaone |location=Singapore |date=1 February 2010|access-date=10 May 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207003624/http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/My%2BMoney/Story/A1Story20100201-195831.html|archive-date=7 February 2010}} innovative,{{cite news |url=http://eurocham.org.sg/index.php?option=com_eurochammobile&view=news&id=289&template=ccmobile |title=Singapore ranked 7th in the world for innovation |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=5 March 2010|access-date=23 August 2010|archive-date=17 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117011704/http://eurocham.org.sg/index.php?option=com_eurochammobile&view=news&id=289&template=ccmobile|url-status=live}}

dynamic{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-jumps-to-top-of-global-dynamism-index |title=Singapore jumps to top of Global Dynamism Index |date=29 October 2015 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore|access-date=25 November 2015|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807080740/http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-jumps-to-top-of-global-dynamism-index|url-status=live}} and business-friendly.{{cite news |title=Singapore top paradise for business: World Bank |url=http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/SME%2BCentral/Story/A1Story20070926-27084.html |agency=Agence France-Presse |location=Singapore |work=AsiaOne |date=26 September 2007|access-date=22 April 2010 |quote=For the second year running, Singapore tops the aggregate rankings on the ease of doing business in 2006 to 2007.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707002844/http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/SME%2BCentral/Story/A1Story20070926-27084.html|archive-date=7 July 2009}} For several years, Singapore has been one of the few{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2014/oct/15/the-aaa-rated-club-which-countries-still-make-the-grade |title=The AAA-rated club: which countries still make the grade? |date=15 October 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144835/https://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2014/oct/15/the-aaa-rated-club-which-countries-still-make-the-grade|url-status=live}} countries with a AAA credit rating from the big three, and the only Asian country to achieve this rating.{{cite news |last=Ogg |first=Jon C. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44020687 |title=Remaining countries with AAA credit ratings|access-date=12 October 2011 |date=8 August 2011 |publisher=NBC News|archive-date=10 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210172859/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44020687|url-status=live}} Singapore attracts a large amount of foreign investment as a result of its location, skilled workforce, low tax rates, advanced infrastructure and zero-tolerance against corruption.{{cite web |url=https://www.cpib.gov.sg/sites/default/files/publication-documents/CPIB%20Corruption%20Statistics_0.pdf |title=CPIB Corruption Statistics 2015 |date=2 April 2015 |publisher=World Bank|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322233426/https://www.cpib.gov.sg/sites/default/files/publication-documents/CPIB%20Corruption%20Statistics_0.pdf|archive-date=22 March 2016}} It was the world's 4th most competitive economy in 2023, according to the International Institute for Management Development's World Competitiveness Ranking of 64 countries,{{cite news |title=Singapore drops one place to No. 4 in global competitiveness ranking |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-drops-to-4th-in-global-competitiveness-ranking#:~:text=SINGAPORE%20%E2%80%93%20Singapore%20has%20been%20ranked,Competitiveness%20Ranking%20released%20on%20Tuesday. |work=Straits Times |date=22 June 2023|access-date=30 June 2023|archive-date=30 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630122457/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-drops-to-4th-in-global-competitiveness-ranking#:~:text=SINGAPORE%20%E2%80%93%20Singapore%20has%20been%20ranked,Competitiveness%20Ranking%20released%20on%20Tuesday.|url-status=live}} with the highest GDP (PPP) per capita.{{cite web |title=World Competitiveness Booklet |url=https://imd.cld.bz/IMD-World-Competitiveness-Booklet-2023/106/ |website=imd.cld.bz |publisher=International Institute for Management Development |access-date=1 July 2023 |language=en |date=2023 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630183836/https://imd.cld.bz/IMD-World-Competitiveness-Booklet-2023/106/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2017&ey=2024&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=60&pr1.y=11&c=137,516,453,576,178&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC&grp=0&a= |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |publisher=IMF|access-date=7 October 2019|archive-date=9 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209082914/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2017&ey=2024&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=60&pr1.y=11&c=137,516,453,576,178&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC&grp=0&a=|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2018&ey=2018&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=55&pr1.y=9&c=512,946,914,137,612,546,614,962,311,674,213,676,911,548,193,556,122,678,912,181,313,867,419,682,513,684,316,273,913,868,124,921,339,948,638,943,514,686,218,688,963,518,616,728,223,836,516,558,918,138,748,196,618,278,624,692,522,694,622,142,156,449,626,564,628,565,228,283,924,853,233,288,632,293,636,566,634,964,238,182,662,359,960,453,423,968,935,922,128,714,611,862,321,135,243,716,248,456,469,722,253,942,642,718,643,724,939,576,644,936,819,961,172,813,132,726,646,199,648,733,915,184,134,524,652,361,174,362,328,364,258,732,656,366,654,734,336,144,263,146,268,463,532,528,944,923,176,738,534,578,536,537,429,742,433,866,178,369,436,744,136,186,343,925,158,869,439,746,916,926,664,466,826,112,542,111,967,298,443,927,917,846,544,299,941,582,446,474,666,754,668,698,672&s=PPPPC&grp=0&a= |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |publisher=IMF|access-date=7 October 2019|archive-date=9 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209082917/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2018&ey=2018&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=55&pr1.y=9&c=512,946,914,137,612,546,614,962,311,674,213,676,911,548,193,556,122,678,912,181,313,867,419,682,513,684,316,273,913,868,124,921,339,948,638,943,514,686,218,688,963,518,616,728,223,836,516,558,918,138,748,196,618,278,624,692,522,694,622,142,156,449,626,564,628,565,228,283,924,853,233,288,632,293,636,566,634,964,238,182,662,359,960,453,423,968,935,922,128,714,611,862,321,135,243,716,248,456,469,722,253,942,642,718,643,724,939,576,644,936,819,961,172,813,132,726,646,199,648,733,915,184,134,524,652,361,174,362,328,364,258,732,656,366,654,734,336,144,263,146,268,463,532,528,944,923,176,738,534,578,536,537,429,742,433,866,178,369,436,744,136,186,343,925,158,869,439,746,916,926,664,466,826,112,542,111,967,298,443,927,917,846,544,299,941,582,446,474,666,754,668,698,672&s=PPPPC&grp=0&a=|url-status=live}} Roughly 44 percent of the Singaporean workforce is made up of non-Singaporeans.{{cite web |url=http://www.salary.sg/2010/44-percent-of-workforce-are-non-citizens/ |title=44 Percent of Workforce Are Non-Citizens" (our estimate)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221140252/http://www.salary.sg/2010/44-percent-of-workforce-are-non-citizens/|archive-date=21 February 2016 |work=Your Salary in Singapore |date=15 March 2010}} Despite market freedom, Singapore's government operations have a significant stake in the economy, contributing 22% of the GDP.{{cite news |author=Seung-yoon Lee |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/09/ha-joon-chang-economics_n_5120030.html |title=Ha-Joon Chang: Economics Is A Political Argument |work=HuffPost |date=9 April 2014|access-date=18 July 2014|archive-date=25 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725200025/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/09/ha-joon-chang-economics_n_5120030.html|url-status=live}} The city is a popular location for conferences and events.{{cite news |title=Singapore remains top Asian city for meetings |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-remains-top-asian-city-for-meetings |work=The Straits Times |date=9 September 2015 |location=Singapore|access-date=9 August 2018|archive-date=9 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809215414/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-remains-top-asian-city-for-meetings|url-status=live}}

File:Singapore Airlines, Airbus A380-800 9V-SKI '50th anniversary of Singapore' NRT (20786371995).jpg, the country's flag carrier, celebrated the nation's 2015 Golden Jubilee with a flag livery on its Airbus A380.]]

The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar (SGD or S$), issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).{{cite book |author=Low Siang Kok |title=The Future of Money |publisher=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |location=Paris|chapter-url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/31/35391062.pdf|access-date=28 December 2007 |isbn=978-92-64-19672-8 |page=147 |chapter=Chapter 6: Singapore Electronic Legal Tender (SELT) – A Proposed Concept |year=2002 |archive-date=16 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216000244/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/31/35391062.pdf|url-status=live}} It has been interchangeable with the Brunei dollar at par value since 1967.{{cite press release |url=http://www.mas.gov.sg/currency/currency_info/Heritage_Collection.html |title=The Currency History of Singapore|access-date=22 April 2010 |date=9 April 2007 |publisher=Monetary Authority of Singapore|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202075742/http://www.mas.gov.sg/currency/currency_info/Heritage_Collection.html|archive-date=2 February 2010}} MAS manages its monetary policy by allowing the Singapore dollar exchange rate to rise or fall within an undisclosed trading band. This is different from most central banks, which use interest rates to manage policy.{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-13/this-central-bank-doesn-t-set-interest-rates |title=This Central Bank Doesn't Set Interest Rates |date=13 April 2015 |work=Bloomberg|access-date=11 March 2017|archive-date=19 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919003651/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-13/this-central-bank-doesn-t-set-interest-rates|url-status=live}} Singapore has the world's eleventh largest foreign reserves,{{cite web |url=https://www.mas.gov.sg/statistics/reserve-statistics/official-foreign-reserves |title=Official Foreign Reserves |website=mas.gov.sg|access-date=28 August 2019|archive-date=19 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119033149/https://www.mas.gov.sg/statistics/reserve-statistics/official-foreign-reserves|url-status=live}} and one of the highest net international investment position per capita.{{cite web |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/SDDS/data.html#ext |title=Statistics Singapore -IMF SDDS – Economic and Financial |publisher=Singstat.gov.sg|access-date=14 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009010622/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/SDDS/data.html|archive-date=9 October 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=1&From=USD&To=SGD |title=Based on USD/SGD rate of 1.221 |publisher=Xe.com|access-date=14 October 2013|archive-date=18 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218200515/http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=1&From=USD&To=SGD|url-status=live}}

Singapore has been identified as a tax haven{{cite news |url=https://www.todayonline.com/business/singapore-fifth-worst-tax-haven-world-oxfam |title=Singapore fifth worst tax haven in the world: Oxfam |last=Lee |first=Yen Nee|access-date=28 August 2019|archive-date=28 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828035003/https://www.todayonline.com/business/singapore-fifth-worst-tax-haven-world-oxfam|url-status=live}} for the wealthy due to its low tax rates on personal income and tax exemptions on foreign-based income and capital gains. Individuals such as Australian millionaire retailer Brett Blundy and multi-billionaire Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin are two examples of wealthy individuals who have settled in Singapore.{{cite web |title=Tax havens: Brett Blundy latest to join the Singapore set |url=http://www.brw.com.au/p/brw-lounge/tax_havens_brett_blundy_latest_to_6FkTiljzKasO6SyVSMRWpM|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130414232445/http://www.brw.com.au/p/brw-lounge/tax_havens_brett_blundy_latest_to_6FkTiljzKasO6SyVSMRWpM|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 April 2013 |website=Business Review Weekly|access-date=18 April 2013 |author=Andrew Heathcote |date=15 April 2013}} In 2009, Singapore was removed from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) "liste grise" of tax havens,{{cite news |last1=Nooten |first1=Carrie |title=Pourquoi Cahuzac a-t-il placé son argent à Singapour? |url=http://www.slate.fr/story/70305/singapour-paradis-fiscal |website=Slate|access-date=13 November 2016 |language=fr |date=4 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114005811/http://www.slate.fr/story/70305/singapour-paradis-fiscal|archive-date=14 November 2016}} and ranked fourth on the Tax Justice Network's 2015 Financial Secrecy Index of the world's off-shore financial service providers, banking one-eighth of the world's offshore capital, while "providing numerous tax avoidance and evasion opportunities".{{cite web |title=Financial Secrecy Index – 2015 Results: Narrative Report on Singapore |publisher=Tax Justice Network |url=http://www.financialsecrecyindex.com/PDF/Singapore.pdf |year=2015|access-date=23 November 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001155132/http://www.financialsecrecyindex.com/PDF/Singapore.pdf|archive-date=1 October 2016}} In August 2016, The Straits Times reported that Indonesia had decided to create tax havens on two islands near Singapore to bring Indonesian capital back into the tax base.{{cite news |title=Jakarta plans tax haven on two islands near Singapore |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/jakarta-plans-tax-haven-on-two-islands-near-singapore |website=The Straits Times|access-date=13 November 2016 |date=14 August 2016|archive-date=14 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114005729/http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/jakarta-plans-tax-haven-on-two-islands-near-singapore|url-status=live}} In October 2016, the Monetary Authority of Singapore admonished and fined UBS and DBS and withdrew Falcon Private Bank's banking licence for their alleged role in the Malaysian Sovereign Fund scandal.{{cite news |author1=Anshuman Daga |author2=Joshua Franklin |title=Singapore shuts Falcon bank unit, fines DBS and UBS over 1MDB |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-scandal-falcon-idUSKCN12B03Y|access-date=13 November 2016 |date=11 October 2016 |newspaper=Reuters|archive-date=14 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114004410/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-scandal-falcon-idUSKCN12B03Y|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=UBS et Falcon sanctionnés à Singapour dans le scandale 1MBD |url=http://www.bilan.ch/argent-finances/ubs-falcon-sanctionnes-a-singapour-scandale-1mbd |website=Bilan.ch|access-date=13 November 2016 |language=fr |date=11 October 2016|archive-date=2 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502222612/http://www.bilan.ch/argent-finances/ubs-falcon-sanctionnes-a-singapour-scandale-1mbd|url-status=dead}}

In 2016, Singapore was rated the world's most expensive city for the third consecutive year by the Economist Intelligence Unit,{{cite news |last1=Ungku |first1=Fathin |last2=Teo |first2=Hillary |title=Water price hike sparks rare public protest in Singapore |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-singapore-protest-idUKKBN16I0GP?il=0|access-date=11 March 2017 |work=Reuters |date=11 March 2017|archive-date=12 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312063839/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-singapore-protest-idUKKBN16I0GP?il=0|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |author=Lee Yen Nee |title=Singapore ranked world's most expensive city for 3rd year running |url=http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-worlds-most-expensive-city-third-year-row-says-eiu-report|access-date=11 March 2017 |work=Today |location=Singapore |date=10 March 2016|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424151527/http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-worlds-most-expensive-city-third-year-row-says-eiu-report?|url-status=live}} and this remained true in 2018.{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2018/03/daily-chart-9 |title=Asian and European cities compete for the title of most expensive city |date=15 March 2018 |newspaper=The Economist|access-date=21 April 2018 |location=London|archive-date=1 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501185800/https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2018/03/daily-chart-9|url-status=live}} The government provides numerous assistance programmes to the homeless and needy through the Ministry of Social and Family Development, so acute poverty is rare. Some of the programmes include providing financial assistance to needy households, providing free medical care at government hospitals, and paying for children's tuition.{{cite web |title=Assistance |date=26 October 2014 |url=http://app.msf.gov.sg/Assistance |publisher=Ministry of Social and Family Development|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026061435/http://app.msf.gov.sg/Assistance|archive-date=26 October 2014}}{{cite news |title=The stingy nanny |date=16 October 2009 |url=http://www.economist.com/node/15524092 |newspaper=The Economist |location=London|access-date=14 February 2012|archive-date=2 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202084444/http://www.economist.com/node/15524092|url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Welfare in Singapore: Singapore government response |date=17 February 2010 |url=http://www.economist.com/node/15541423 |newspaper=The Economist |location=London|access-date=14 February 2012|archive-date=29 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629042252/http://www.economist.com/node/15541423|url-status=live}} Other benefits include compensation for gym fees to encourage citizens to exercise,{{cite news |url=http://www.todayonline.com/print/475546 |title=ActiveSG$100 for Singaporeans to play sport |newspaper=Today |location=Singapore |date=26 April 2014|access-date=13 July 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623023323/http://www.todayonline.com/print/475546|archive-date=23 June 2016}} up to S$166,000 as a baby bonus for each citizen,{{cite web |url=http://www.babybonus.msf.gov.sg/parent |title=Baby Bonus |publisher=Ministry of Social & Family Development|access-date=13 July 2016|archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016034146/http://www.babybonus.msf.gov.sg/parent/|url-status=live}} heavily subsidised healthcare, financial aid for the disabled, the provision of reduced-cost laptops for poor students,{{cite web |url=http://www.ida.gov.sg/Learning/Community-Development/NEU-PC-Plus-Programme/Schemes/NEU-PC-Plus-Programme-PC-Bundle-scheme |title=NEU PC Plus Programme |publisher=Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore|access-date=13 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119040025/https://www.ida.gov.sg/Learning/Community-Development/NEU-PC-Plus-Programme/Schemes/NEU-PC-Plus-Programme-PC-Bundle-scheme|archive-date=19 January 2016|url-status=dead}} rebates for costs such as public transport{{cite web |url=http://www.mot.gov.sg/News-Centre/News/2015/250,000-Public-Transport-Vouchers-to-Help-Needy-Families-Cope-with-Fare-Adjustment |title=250,000 Public Transport Vouchers to Help Needy Families Cope with Fare Adjustment |publisher=Ministry of Transport |date=21 January 2015|access-date=13 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529210225/http://www.mot.gov.sg/News-Centre/News/2015/250,000-Public-Transport-Vouchers-to-Help-Needy-Families-Cope-with-Fare-Adjustment/|archive-date=29 May 2016|url-status=dead}} and utility bills, and more.{{cite web |url=http://app.msf.gov.sg/Press-Room/Numbers-and-profile-of-homeless-persons |title=Numbers and profile of homeless persons |publisher=Ministry of Social and Family Development |date=13 August 2012|access-date=13 July 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513223221/http://app.msf.gov.sg/Press-Room/Numbers-and-profile-of-homeless-persons|archive-date=13 May 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2014/families1.aspx |title=Singapore Budget 2014 – Measures For Households |publisher=Government of Singapore|access-date=13 July 2016|archive-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625104848/http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2014/families1.aspx|url-status=live}} In the 2025 report, Singapore was ranked 13th in the world in the Human Development Index (HDI) with a value of 0.946, making it one of four regions in Asia to be ranked within the top 20, with the other three being Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, and South Korea.

{{Main|Geography of Singapore}}

{{See also|Land reclamation in Singapore}}

File:CIA World Factbook map of Singapore (English).png

Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island, Pulau Ujong.{{cite book |first1=Victor R. |last1=Savage |first2=Brenda S.A. |last2=Yeoh |title=Toponymics: A Study of Singapore's Street Names |year=2004 |publisher=Eastern Universities Press |location=Singapore |isbn=978-981-210-364-2}} There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Johor–Singapore Causeway in the north and the Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's smaller islands. The highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill at {{convert|163.63|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.nhb.gov.sg/NHBPortal/faces/oracle/webcenter/portalapp/pagehierarchy/Page856.jspx?detContId=NHBSVRAPP61620001517|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409193851/http://www.nhb.gov.sg/NHBPortal/faces/oracle/webcenter/portalapp/pagehierarchy/Page856.jspx?detContId=NHBSVRAPP61620001517|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 April 2015 |publisher=National Heritage Board|access-date=11 January 2015 |title=Bukit Timah Hill}} Under British rule, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands were part of Singapore, and both were transferred to Australia in 1957.Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. Pgs. 133–134Department of External Affairs in Australia. (16 May 1957): Report from the Australian High Commission in Singapore to the Department of External Affairs in Australia. Singapore: National Archives of Singapore. (Microfilm: NAB 447){{cite news |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19580516.2.20.2.aspx |title=All set for transfer |date=16 May 1958 |newspaper=The Straits Times |page=2 |location=Singapore |access-date=17 February 2019 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906024518/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19580516.2.20.2.aspx |url-status=live}} Pedra Branca is the nation's easternmost point.{{cite web |url=https://www.mfa.gov.sg/SINGAPORES-FOREIGN-POLICY/Key-Issues/Pedra-Branca |title=Pedra Branca |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date= 4 February 2020 |archive-date= 20 December 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191220024132/https://www.mfa.gov.sg/SINGAPORES-FOREIGN-POLICY/Key-Issues/Pedra-Branca |url-status= live}}

Land reclamation projects have increased Singapore's land area from {{convert|580|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in the 1960s to {{convert|710|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} by 2015, an increase of some 22% (130 km²).{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21645221-asias-mania-reclaiming-land-sea-spawns-mounting-problems-such-quantities-sand |title=Such quantities of sand |date=28 February 2015 |newspaper=The Economist |location=London |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-date=13 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913151040/https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21645221-asias-mania-reclaiming-land-sea-spawns-mounting-problems-such-quantities-sand |url-status=live}} The country is projected to reclaim another {{convert|56|km2|sqmi|-1|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |title=MND Land Use Report |url=https://www.mnd.gov.sg/landuseplan/ |publisher=Ministry of National Development |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130204064610/https://www.mnd.gov.sg/landuseplan/ |archive-date=4 February 2013}} Some projects involve merging smaller islands through land reclamation to form larger, more functional and habitable islands, as has been done with Jurong Island.{{cite web |url=http://earthshots.usgs.gov/earthshots/node/11#ad-image-20 |title=Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change: Singapore |publisher=Earthshots |access-date= 14 April 2015 |archive-date= 21 May 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150521074529/http://earthshots.usgs.gov/earthshots/node/11#ad-image-20 |url-status= live}} The type of sand used in reclamation is found in rivers and beaches, rather than deserts, and is in great demand worldwide. In 2010 Singapore imported almost 15 million tons of sand for its projects, the demand being such that Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam have all restricted or barred the export of sand to Singapore in recent years. As a result, in 2016 Singapore switched to using polders for reclamation, in which an area is enclosed and then pumped dry.{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-ideas-to-feed-a-growing-island/ |title=New ideas to feed a growing island |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=4 February 2018 |access-date= 29 May 2019 |archive-date= 29 May 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190529155354/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-ideas-to-feed-a-growing-island |url-status= live}}

{{Main|Wildlife of Singapore}}

File:Walk through Singapore Botanic Gardens-03 (15960226189).jpg – one of three gardens in the world, and the only tropical garden, to be recognised as such.]]

Singapore's urbanisation means that it has lost 95% of its historical forests,{{cite journal |last1=Brook |first1=Barry W. |last2=Sodhi |first2=Navjot S. |last3=Ng |first3=Peter K.L. |date=24 July 2003 |title=Catastrophic extinctions follow deforestation in Singapore |journal=Nature |volume=424 |pages=420–426 |issn=0028-0836 |doi=10.1038/nature01795 |pmid=12879068 |issue=6947 |bibcode=2003Natur.424..420B |s2cid=4404246}} and now over half of the naturally occurring fauna and flora in Singapore is present in nature reserves, such as the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, which comprise only 0.25% of Singapore's land area. In 1967, to combat this decline in natural space, the government introduced the vision of making Singapore a "garden city",{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/a7fac49f-9c96-4030-8709-ce160c58d15c |title="Garden City" vision is introduced |publisher=History SG|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-date=30 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030155659/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/a7fac49f-9c96-4030-8709-ce160c58d15c|url-status=live}} aiming to improve quality of life.{{cite web |url=https://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/AnnexB.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324093917/https://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/AnnexB.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 March 2014 |title=Singapore, A City in a Garden |publisher=National Parks Board}} Since then, nearly 10% of Singapore's land has been set aside for parks and nature reserves.{{cite web |url=http://app.mnd.gov.sg/Newsroom/NewsPage.aspx?ID=5064&category=Speech&year=2014&RA1=&RA2=&RA3=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710090137/http://app.mnd.gov.sg/Newsroom/NewsPage.aspx?ID=5064&category=Speech&year=2014&RA1=&RA2=&RA3=|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 July 2014 |title=Speech by MOS Desmond Lee at the Asia for Animals Conference Gala Dinner |publisher=National Development Ministry|access-date=17 January 2014}} The government has created plans to preserve the country's remaining wildlife.{{cite web |url=http://www.nbrcnparks.org/initiatives_nation.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005194408/http://www.nbrcnparks.org/initiatives_nation.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 October 2007 |title=National Initiatives |publisher=National Biodiversity Reference Center|access-date=26 September 2009}} Singapore's well known gardens include the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a 165-year-old tropical garden and Singapore's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.{{Cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-botanic-gardens-declared-unesco-world-heritage-site-8224416 |title=Singapore Botanic Gardens declared UNESCO World Heritage Site |date=4 July 2015 |publisher=Channel NewsAsia|access-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115213851/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-botanic-gardens-declared-unesco-world-heritage-site-8224416|archive-date=15 November 2017|url-status=dead}}

{{See also|Climate change in Singapore}}File:Flower Dome and Cloud Forest Singapore (36712606096).jpg]]

Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen: Af) with no distinctive seasons, uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall.{{Cite web |title=Climate of Singapore |url=http://www.weather.gov.sg/climate-climate-of-singapore/ |website=weather.gov.sg|access-date=28 May 2020|archive-date=29 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529212925/http://www.weather.gov.sg/climate-climate-of-singapore|url-status=live}}{{Cite book |last1=McKnight |first1=Tom L. (Tom Lee) |url=https://archive.org/details/physicalgeographmckn |title=Physical geography : a landscape appreciation |last2=Hess |first2=Darrel |date=2000 |publisher=Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall |others=Internet Archive |access-date=28 May 2020}} Temperatures usually range from {{convert|23|to|32|°C|°F}}. While temperature does not vary greatly throughout the year, there is a wetter monsoon season from November to February.{{cite web |url=http://www.nea.gov.sg/weather-climate/climate/weather-statistics |title=Singapore National Environment Agency Weather Statistics|access-date=24 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031025300/http://www.nea.gov.sg/weather-climate/climate/weather-statistics|archive-date=31 October 2016|url-status=dead}}

From July to October, there is often haze caused by bush fires in neighbouring Indonesia, usually from the island of Sumatra.{{cite news |url=http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=12078 |title=Singapore enveloped by Sumatran smog |last=Bond |first=Sam |work=Edie newsroom |date=2 October 2006|access-date=2 June 2011|archive-date=27 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927134938/http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=12078|url-status=live}} Singapore follows the GMT+8 time zone, one hour ahead of the typical zone for its geographical location.{{cite web |url=http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/teaching/timezone.html |title=Why is Singapore in the 'Wrong' Time Zone? |author=Mok Ly Yng |publisher=National University of Singapore |date=22 September 2010|access-date=5 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728230528/http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/teaching/timezone.html|archive-date=28 July 2010|url-status=dead}} This causes the sun to rise and set particularly late during February, where the sun rises at 7:15 am and sets around 7:20 pm. During July, the sun sets at around 7:15 pm. The earliest the sun rises and sets is in late October and early November when the sun rises at 6:46 am and sets at 6:50 pm.{{Cite web |title=Astronomical and Tidal Information {{!}} Monthly Data|url=http://www.weather.gov.sg/weather-astronomical-and-tidal-information-monthly-data|website=weather.gov.sg|access-date=31 May 2020|archive-date=18 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518173327/http://www.weather.gov.sg/weather-astronomical-and-tidal-information-monthly-data|url-status=live}}

Singapore recognises that climate change and rising sea levels in the decades ahead will have major implications for its low-lying coastline. It estimates that the nation will need to spend $100 billion over the course of the next century to address the issue. In its 2020 budget, the government set aside an initial $5 billion towards a Coastline and Flood Protection Fund.{{cite news |title=Singapore Budget 2020: New coastal and flood protection fund to protect Singapore against rising sea levels |date=18 February 2020 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |first=Audrey |last=Tan |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-budget-2020-new-coastal-and-flood-protection-fund-to-protect-singapore-against |access-date=20 February 2020 |archive-date=20 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220154552/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-budget-2020-new-coastal-and-flood-protection-fund-to-protect-singapore-against |url-status=live}}Overland, Indra et al. (2017) [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320622312 Impact of Climate Change on ASEAN International Affairs: Risk and Opportunity Multiplier] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728065717/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320622312_Impact_of_Climate_Change_on_ASEAN_International_Affairs_Risk_and_Opportunity_Multiplier |date=28 July 2020 }}, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and Myanmar Institute of International and Strategic Studies (MISIS). Singapore is the first country in Southeast Asia to levy a carbon tax on its largest carbon-emitting corporations producing more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, at $5 per ton.{{cite news |title=Singapore Budget 2018: Carbon tax of $5 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions to be levied |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-budget-2018-carbon-tax-of-5-per-tonne-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-to-be-levied |work=The Straits Times |date=19 February 2018 |location=Singapore |access-date=24 March 2020 |archive-date=19 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219105759/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-budget-2018-carbon-tax-of-5-per-tonne-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-to-be-levied |url-status=live}}

To reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels, it has ramped up deployment of solar panels on rooftops and vertical surfaces of buildings, and other initiatives like building one of the world's largest floating solar farms at Tengeh Reservoir in Tuas.{{cite news |title=One of world's largest floating solar farms coming up in Tuas |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/one-of-worlds-largest-floating-solar-farms-coming-up-in-tuas |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=13 September 2020 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125122236/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/one-of-worlds-largest-floating-solar-farms-coming-up-in-tuas |url-status=live}}

{{Singapore weatherbox}}

{{Main|Water supply and sanitation in Singapore}}

Singapore considers water a national security issue and the government has sought to emphasise conservation.{{cite news |last=Nur Asyiqin |first=Mohamad Salleh |title=Parliament: Water an issue of national security and must be priced fully, Masagos says |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/singapolitics/parliament-water-an-issue-of-national-security-and-must-be-priced-fully |access-date=6 December 2020 |newspaper=The Straits Times |date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414170843/https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/singapolitics/parliament-water-an-issue-of-national-security-and-must-be-priced-fully |url-status=live}} Water access is universal and of high quality, though the country is projected to face significant water-stress by 2040.{{cite web |title=Water Action Decade – Singapore |url=https://wateractiondecade.org/country/singapore/ |website=Water Action Decade |access-date=6 December 2020 |archive-date=9 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209224200/https://wateractiondecade.org/country/singapore/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=S'pore 'most at risk of facing high water stress' |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/spore-most-at-risk-of-facing-high-water-stress |access-date=6 December 2020 |newspaper=The Straits Times |date=29 August 2015 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122062242/https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/spore-most-at-risk-of-facing-high-water-stress |url-status=live}} To circumvent this, the Public Utilities Board has implemented the "four national taps" strategy – water imported from neighbouring Malaysia, urban rainwater catchments, reclaimed water (NEWater) and seawater desalination.{{cite web |url=https://www.pub.gov.sg/watersupply/singaporewaterstory |title=Singapore Water Story |publisher=Public Utilities Board |year=2018|access-date=17 March 2018|archive-date=29 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329062059/https://www.pub.gov.sg/watersupply/singaporewaterstory|url-status=live}} Singapore's approach does not rely only on physical infrastructure; it also emphasises proper legislation and enforcement, water pricing, public education as well as research and development.{{cite journal |author=Ivy Ong Bee Luan |title=Singapore Water Management Policies and Practices |journal=International Journal of Water Resources Development |year=2010 |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=65–80 |doi=10.1080/07900620903392190 |bibcode=2010IJWRD..26...65L |s2cid=154813810}} Singapore has declared that it will be water self-sufficient by the time its 1961 long-term water supply agreement with Malaysia expires in 2061. However, according to official forecasts, water demand in Singapore is expected to double from {{convert|1.4|to|2.8|e9L|e6m3 e6gal|abbr=off}} per day between 2010 and 2060. The increase is expected to come primarily from non-domestic water use, which accounted for 55% of water demand in 2010 and is expected to account for 70% of demand in 2060. By that time, water demand is expected to be met by reclaimed water at the tune of 50% and by desalination accounting for 30%, compared to only 20% supplied by internal catchments.{{Cite news |title=Singapore To Meet Water Target Before Deadline: Southeast Asia |website=Bloomberg News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-29/singapore-to-meet-water-target-before-deadline-southeast-asia.html|access-date=9 August 2012 |date=30 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805212635/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-29/singapore-to-meet-water-target-before-deadline-southeast-asia.html|archive-date=5 August 2012|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Four National Taps Provide Water for All |url=http://www.pub.gov.sg/water/Pages/default.aspx|access-date=10 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730063932/http://www.pub.gov.sg/water/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=30 July 2012|url-status=dead}}

Singapore is expanding its recycling system and intends to spend S$10 billion (US$7.4 billion) in water treatment infrastructure upgrades.{{cite web |title=Resource-starved Singapore turns sewage into ultra-clean water |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-08-resource-starved-singapore-sewage-ultra-clean.html|access-date=13 August 2021 |website=phys.org|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813231204/https://phys.org/news/2021-08-resource-starved-singapore-sewage-ultra-clean.html|url-status=live}} The Ulu Pandan wastewater treatment was specially built to test advanced used-water treatment processes before full deployment and won the Water/Wastewater Project of the Year Award at the 2018 Global Water Awards in Paris, France.{{cite web |title=2018 Water / Wastewater Project of the Year |url=https://globalwaterawards.com/2018-water-wastewater-project-of-the-year/|access-date=13 August 2021 |website=Global Water Awards |language=en-US|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813231205/https://globalwaterawards.com/2018-water-wastewater-project-of-the-year/|url-status=live}} Operation started in 2017 and was jointly developed by PUB and the Black & Veatch + AECOM Joint Venture.{{cite web |title=PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency |url=https://www.pub.gov.sg/|access-date=13 August 2021 |website=PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency}}

{{Main|Virtual Singapore}}

Virtual Singapore is a 3D digital replica of Singapore, which is used by the Government of Singapore, Singapore Land Authority, and many more companies to plan for industrial changes. It is also used for disaster management.{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Andy |date=4 May 2023 |title=Singapore's digital twin – from science fiction to hi-tech reality |url=https://infra.global/singapores-digital-twin-from-science-fiction-to-hi-tech-reality/ |publisher=Infrastructure Global |access-date=20 November 2024}}

{{Main|Transport in Singapore}}

File:KSF C151B close view 0225.jpg MRT Train approaching Eunos station]]

File:SG6227L on 114 (MAN A95 ND323F Euro 6 Batch 5).jpg Bus in Singapore]]

Singapore's public transport network is shaped up with trains (consisting of the MRT and LRT systems), buses and taxis. There are currently six MRT lines (North–South MRT line, East–West MRT line, North East MRT line, Circle MRT line, Downtown MRT line and Thomson–East Coast MRT line), three LRT lines serving the neighbourhoods of Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang (Bukit Panjang LRT line), Sengkang (Sengkang LRT line) and Punggol (Punggol LRT line),{{cite web |url=https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/getting_around/public_transport/rail_network.html |title=Rail Network |publisher=Land Transport Authority|access-date=9 December 2022}} covering around 241 km (150 mi) in total, and more than 300 bus routes in operation.{{cite web |url=https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/who_we_are/our_work/public_transport_system/bus.html |title=Bus |publisher=Land Transport Authority|access-date=9 December 2022}} Taxis are a popular form of transport as the fares are relatively affordable when compared to many other developed countries, whilst cars in Singapore are the most expensive to own worldwide.{{cite web |url=http://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/public-transport/taxis/getting-a-taxi.html |title=Getting A Taxi |publisher=Land Transport Authority|access-date=13 July 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527192902/http://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/public-transport/taxis/getting-a-taxi.html|archive-date=27 May 2016}}

Singapore has a road system covering {{convert|3356|km|mi|0}}, which includes {{convert|161|km|mi|0}} of expressways.{{cite web |url=http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Average_Daily_Public_Transport_Ridership.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401014335/http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/Average_Daily_Public_Transport_Ridership.pdf|archive-date=1 April 2010|url-status=dead |title=Public transport ridership |publisher=Land Transport Authority|access-date=2 July 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.lta.gov.sg/public_transport/pt_rail_tracing.htm |title=Tracing our steps |publisher=Land Transport Authority|access-date=2 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605104816/http://www.lta.gov.sg/public_transport/pt_rail_tracing.htm|archive-date=5 June 2011}} The Singapore Area Licensing Scheme, implemented in 1975, became the world's first congestion pricing scheme, and included other complementary measures such as stringent car ownership quotas and improvements in mass transit.{{cite book |last1=Small |first1=Kenneth A. |last2=Verhoef |first2=Erik T. |year=2007 |title=The Economics of Urban Transportation |url=https://archive.org/details/economicsurbantr00smal|url-access=limited |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-28515-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/economicsurbantr00smal/page/n164 148]}}{{cite book |last=Cervero |first=Robert|author-link=Robert Cervero |year=1998 |title=The Transit Metropolis |page=169 |publisher=Island Press |location=Washington DC |id=Chapter 6/The Master Planned Transit Metropolis: Singapore |isbn=978-1-55963-591-2}} Upgraded in 1998 and renamed Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), the system introduced electronic toll collection, electronic detection, and video surveillance technology.{{cite web |url=http://www.lta.gov.sg/motoring_matters/index_motoring_erp.htm |title=Electronic Road Pricing |publisher=Land Transport Authority|access-date=16 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410143342/http://www.lta.gov.sg/motoring_matters/index_motoring_erp.htm |archive-date=10 April 2008}} A satellite-based system was due to replace the physical gantries by 2020, but has been delayed until 2026 due to global shortages in the supply of semiconductors.{{cite news |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/satellite-based-erp-to-be-ready-by-2020-with-s-556m-contract-awa-8182754 |title=Satellite-based ERP to be ready by 2020, with S$556m contract awarded |date=25 February 2016 |work=Channel NewsAsia|access-date=17 August 2018|archive-date=17 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817161420/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/satellite-based-erp-to-be-ready-by-2020-with-s-556m-contract-awa-8182754|url-status=dead}} As Singapore is a small island with a high population density, the number of private cars on the road is restricted with a pre-set car population quota, to curb pollution and congestion. Car buyers must pay for Additional Registration Fees (ARF) duties of either 100%, 140%, 180% or 220% of the vehicle's Open Market Value (OMV), and bid for a Singaporean Certificate of Entitlement (COE) (that varies twice a month in supply based on the number of car registrations and de-registrations), which allows the car to be driven on the road for maximum period of 10 years. Car prices are generally significantly higher in Singapore than in other English-speaking countries.{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-16/bmw-3-series-costs-260-000-as-singapore-tax-keeps-cars-for-rich.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220044725/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-16/bmw-3-series-costs-260-000-as-singapore-tax-keeps-cars-for-rich.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2011 |title=BMW Costing $260,000 Means Cars Only for Rich in Singapore as Taxes Climb |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |location=New York|access-date=2 July 2011 |first=Kristine |last=Aquino |date=17 February 2011}} As with most Commonwealth countries, vehicles on the road and people walking on the streets keep to the left (left-hand traffic).{{cite web |url=http://www.expatsingapore.com/content/view/1147 |title=Once you're here: Basic Road Rules and Regulations |publisher=Expat Singapore |date=16 August 2009|access-date=27 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215023246/http://www.expatsingapore.com/content/view/1147|archive-date=15 December 2014|url-status=dead}}

The Johor–Singapore Causeway (connecting Singapore with Johor Bahru, Malaysia) is the busiest international land border crossing in the world, whereby approximately 350,000 travellers cross the border checkpoints of both Woodlands Checkpoint and Sultan Iskandar Building daily (with an annual total of 128 million travellers).{{cite news |last=Lim |first=Yan Liang |date=13 October 2013 |title=A look at Woodlands Checkpoint: Singapore's first and last line of defence |newspaper=The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/a-look-at-woodlands-checkpoint-singapores-first-and-last-line-of-defence |access-date=27 April 2022}} The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is responsible for all land transport-related infrastructure and operations in Singapore.

File:JewelSingaporeVortex1.jpg]]

Singapore is a major international transport hub in Asia, serving some of the busiest sea and air trade routes. Changi Airport is an aviation centre for Southeast Asia and a stopover on Qantas' Kangaroo Route between Sydney and London.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/qantas-celebrates-60-years-of-the-kangaroo-route-761078.html |title=Qantas celebrates 60 years of the 'Kangaroo Route' |first=Kathy |last=Marks |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=30 November 2007}} There are two civilian airports in Singapore, Changi Airport and Seletar Airport.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/04/06/firefly-to-resume-flights-to-seletar-airport-after-malaysia-singapore-resolve-airspace-issue |title=Malaysia and Singapore resolve airspace issue, Firefly to resume flights to Seletar airport |date=6 April 2019 |website=The Star Online}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/malaysian-firefly-resume-singapore-flights-twice-daily-seletar-11439066 |title=Malaysian carrier Firefly to resume Singapore flights with twice-daily trips |website=CNA|access-date=28 August 2019|archive-date=17 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617181651/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/malaysian-firefly-resume-singapore-flights-twice-daily-seletar-11439066|url-status=dead}} The Changi Airport hosts a network of over 100 airlines connecting Singapore to some 300 cities in about 70 countries and territories worldwide.{{cite web |url=http://www.changiairport.com/our-business/about-changi-airport |title=About Changi Airport |publisher=Changiairport.com|access-date=13 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121013212/http://www.changiairport.com/our-business/about-changi-airport|archive-date=21 November 2014|url-status=dead}} It has been rated one of the best international airports by international travel magazines, including being rated as the world's best airport for the first time in 2006 by Skytrax.{{cite web |title=2006 Airport of the Year result|access-date=1 June 2006 |url=http://www.worldairportawards.com/Awards-2006/AirportYear-2006.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231160516/http://www.worldairportawards.com/Awards-2006/AirportYear-2006.htm |publisher=World Airport Awards|archive-date=31 December 2006}} It also had three of the ten busiest international air routes in the world in 2023: the busiest between Kuala Lumpur–Singapore, seventh busiest between Jakarta–Singapore, and ninth busiest between Bangkok Suvarnahbumi–Singapore.{{Cite web |url=https://www.oag.com/busiest-routes-world-2023 |title=The Busiest Flight Routes of 2023 |author= |year=2024 |website=OAG.com |publisher=OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited |access-date=20 November 2024}}

Singapore Airlines, which is the flag carrier of Singapore,{{cite news |url=http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/201303/BRAND-HEALTH-CHECK-Singapore-airlines---Turbulence-ahead-Singapore-flag-carrier/ |title=Turbulence ahead for Singapore flag carrier |first=Jimmy |last=Yap |date=30 January 2004 |work=Brand Republic |publisher=Haymarket Business Media |location=London}} has been regarded as a 5-star airline by Skytrax{{cite web |title=Singapore Airlines |url=https://skytraxratings.com/airlines/singapore-airlines-rating#:~:text=Singapore%20Airlines%20is%20Certified%20as%20a%205%2DStar%20Airline%20for,cabin%20staff%20and%20ground%20staff.s |publisher=Skytrax|access-date=9 December 2022}} and been in the world top 10 list of airlines for multiple consecutive years.{{cite web |title=Skytrax World Airline Awards |url=http://www.worldairlineawards.com/ |publisher=Skytrax|access-date=9 December 2022}} It held the title of the World's Best Airline by Skytrax in 2023. It won this title 12 times. Its hub, Changi Airport had also been rated as the world's best airport from 2013 to 2020 before being superseded by Hamad International Airport in Doha.{{Cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/airports/singapore-is-no-longer-the-worlds-best-airport/news-story/539ff30162fc7d6d74fd6ad559457bdb |title=Singapore is no longer the world's best airport |date=10 August 2021 |access-date=13 January 2024 |website=news.com.au |last=McMah |first=Lauren |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810225156/https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/airports/singapore-is-no-longer-the-worlds-best-airport/news-story/539ff30162fc7d6d74fd6ad559457bdb |archive-date=10 August 2021}} It reclaimed this title in 2023{{cite web |title=The World's Top 10 Airports of 2023 |url=https://www.worldairportawards.com/the-worlds-top-10-airports-of-2023/ |website=SKYTRAX |language=en}} before being superseded once more in 2024.{{cite web |title=The World's Best Airports|url=https://www.worldairportawards.com/airport-of-the-year-winners/|website=SKYTRAX |language=en}}

File:Singapore Port viewed from The Pinnacle@Duxton 08.jpg

The Port of Singapore, managed by port operators PSA International and Jurong Port, was the world's second-busiest port in 2019 in terms of shipping tonnage handled, at 2.85 billion gross tons (GT), and in terms of containerised traffic, at 37.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).{{cite web |url=https://www.mpa.gov.sg/web/portal/home/media-centre/news-releases/detail/38b82bb6-2f92-418c-a98d-c4c9e56f9232 |title=Singapore's 2019 Maritime Performance|access-date=4 February 2020|archive-date=3 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103154554/https://www.mpa.gov.sg/web/portal/home/media-centre/news-releases/detail/38b82bb6-2f92-418c-a98d-c4c9e56f9232|url-status=dead}} It is also the world's second-busiest, behind Shanghai, in terms of cargo tonnage with 626 million tons handled. In addition, the port is the world's busiest for transshipment traffic and the world's biggest ship refuelling centre.{{cite news |url=https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-port-container-throughput-hits-record-high-in-2019-mpa |title=Singapore port container throughput hits record high in 2019: MPA |first=Sharanya |last=Pillai |date=13 January 2020 |website=The Business Times}}

Singapore is the world's 3rd-largest foreign exchange centre, 6th-largest financial centre,{{cite web |date=September 2020 |title=The Global Financial Centres Index 28 |url=https://www.longfinance.net/media/documents/GFCI_28_Full_Report_2020.09.25_v1.1.pdf|access-date=26 September 2020 |publisher=Long Finance}} 2nd-largest casino gambling market,{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-10/singapore-miracle-dimming-as-income-gap-widens-squeeze-by-rich.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816092048/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-10/singapore-miracle-dimming-as-income-gap-widens-squeeze-by-rich.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 August 2011 |date=10 August 2011 |work=Bloomberg |location=New York |last=Adam |first=Shamim |title=Singapore Miracle Dimming as Income Gap Widens Squeeze by Rich}} 3rd-largest oil-refining and trading centre, largest oil-rig producer and hub for ship repair services,[http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index/industry_sectors/energy/facts_and_figures.html Facts and Figures – Singapore Economic Development Board]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720070516/http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index/industry_sectors/energy/facts_and_figures.html|date=20 July 2012}}{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8b9d7d1e-c837-11da-a377-0000779e2340.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8b9d7d1e-c837-11da-a377-0000779e2340.html |archive-date=10 December 2022|url-access=subscription |work=Financial Times |location=London |date=10 April 2006 |last=Burton |first=John |title=Singapore economy grows 9.1% in first quarter}}{{cite web |url=http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index/industry_sectors/marine___offshore/facts_and_figures.html |title=Facts and Figures |publisher=Singapore Economic Development Board |date=30 January 2012|access-date=21 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418084237/http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index/industry_sectors/marine___offshore/facts_and_figures.html|archive-date=18 April 2012}} and largest logistics hub.{{cite news |newspaper=The Straits Times |date=7 November 2007 |location=Singapore |author=Yang Huiwen |title=Singapore ranked No. 1 logistics hub by World Bank |page=69}} The economy is diversified, with its top contributors being financial services, manufacturing, and oil-refining. Its main exports are refined petroleum, integrated circuits, and computers,{{cite web |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/themes/economy/ess/essa11.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624200246/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/themes/economy/ess/essa11.pdf|archive-date=24 June 2008 |title=Gross Domestic Product by Industry|access-date=22 April 2010 |year=2007 |publisher=Singapore Statistics}} which constituted 27% of the country's GDP in 2010. Other significant sectors include electronics, chemicals, mechanical engineering, and biomedical sciences. Singapore was ranked 4th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024 and 7th in 2022.{{Cite book |author=World Intellectual Property Organization |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=www.wipo.int |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}{{Cite book |last=WIPO |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=17 October 2023 |date=23 October 2023 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |isbn=9789280534320 |language=en}}{{cite book |last=WIPO |title=Global Innovation Index 2022, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2022/index.html |access-date=16 November 2022 |year=2022 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |isbn=9789280534320}}{{cite web |title=RTD – Item |url=https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/rtd/items/691898|access-date=2 September 2021 |website=ec.europa.eu}}{{cite web |date=28 October 2013 |title=Global Innovation Index |url=https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|access-date=2 September 2021 |website=INSEAD Knowledge|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902101622/https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|url-status=dead}} In 2019, there were more than 60 semiconductor companies in Singapore, which together constituted 11% of the global market share. The semiconductor industry alone contributes around 7% of Singapore's GDP.{{cite news |title=Heng upbeat about semiconductor industry's prospects |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/heng-upbeat-about-semiconductor-industrys-prospects |work=Straits Times |date=18 September 2019}}

Singapore's largest companies are in the telecommunications, banking, transportation, and manufacturing sectors, many of which started as state-run statutory corporations and have since been publicly listed on the Singapore Exchange. Such companies include Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), Singapore Technologies Engineering, Keppel Corporation, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), and United Overseas Bank (UOB). In 2011, after the 2008 financial crisis, OCBC, DBS and UOB were ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek as the world's 1st, 5th, and 6th strongest banks in the world, respectively.{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-09/ocbc-world-s-strongest-bank-in-singapore-with-canadians-dominating-ranking|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016034143/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-09/ocbc-world-s-strongest-bank-in-singapore-with-canadians-dominating-ranking|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 October 2015 |title=Singapore's OCBC Strongest Bank as Canadians Dominate |date=10 May 2011 |work=Bloomberg Business |location=New York}} It is home to the headquarters of 3 Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest in the region.{{cite web |title=Global 500 |url=https://fortune.com/global500/2020/|access-date=23 October 2020 |website=Fortune}}

The nation's best known global companies include Singapore Airlines, Changi Airport, and the Port of Singapore, all of which are among the most-awarded in their respective fields. Singapore Airlines was ranked as Asia's most-admired company, and the world's 19th most-admired company in 2015 by Fortune{{'}}s annual "50 most admired companies in the world" industry surveys. Other awards it has received include the US-based Travel + Leisure{{'}}s Best International Airline award, which it has won for 20 consecutive years.{{cite news |url=http://business.asiaone.com/news/sia-tops-asian-list-among-50-most-admired-global-firms |title=SIA tops Asian list among 50 most admired global firms |date=26 February 2015 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20150922111020/http://business.asiaone.com/news/sia-tops-asian-list-among-50-most-admired-global-firms|archive-date=22 September 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://fortune.com/2015/07/07/worlds-best-airlines/ |title=The world's best airlines |date=7 July 2015 |work=Fortune |location=New York}} Changi Airport connects over 100 airlines to more than 300 cities. The strategic international air hub has more than 480 World's Best Airport awards {{As of|2015|lc=y}}, and is known as the most-awarded airport in the world.{{cite news |url=http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/lee-kuan-yew-dies/lee-kuan-yew-truly-the-father-of-changi-airport |title=Lee Kuan Yew, truly the father of Changi airport |date=12 September 2015 |work=The Business Times |location=Singapore}} Over ten free-trade agreements have been signed with other countries and regions. Singapore is the second-largest foreign investor in India.{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1104667/1/.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722162407/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1104667/1/.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 July 2012 |title=S'pore is India's second-largest foreign investor |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |date=14 January 2011 |author=Ramesh, S.}} It is the 14th largest exporter and the 15th largest importer in the world.{{cite web |url=http://exportbritain.org.uk/market-snapshots/singapore.html |title=Singapore |website=Export Britain|access-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820040124/http://exportbritain.org.uk/market-snapshots/singapore.html|archive-date=20 August 2017|url-status=usurped}}{{cite book |title=Perspectives on the Security of Singapore: The First 50 Years |isbn=978-981-4689-33-5 |page=128 |last1=Desker |first1=Barry |last2=Ang |first2=Cheng Guan |date=22 July 2015 |publisher=World Scientific}}

{{Main|Tourism in Singapore}}

File:Singapore Merlion.jpg, the official mascot of Singapore]]

Tourism is a major industry and contributor to the Singaporean economy, attracting 13.6 million international tourists in 2023, more than double Singapore's total population.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/01/singapore-tourist-arrivals-double-in-2023-thanks-to-china-indonesia-malaysia.html |title=Singapore tourist arrivals double in 2023 amid global travel recovery |author=Lim Hui Jie |date=1 February 2024 |website=CNBC.com |access-date=23 October 2024}} Tourism contributed directly to about 3% of Singapore's GDP, on average, in the 10 years before 2023, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic years.{{cite web |url=https://www.stb.gov.sg/content/stb/en/about-stb/overview.html |title=Overview |year=2024 |website=Singapore Tourism Board |access-date=23 October 2024}} Altogether, the sector generated approximately 8.6% of Singapore's employment in 2016.{{cite web |title=World Travel and Tourism Council 2017 Singapore report |url=https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/benchmark-reports/country-reports-2017/singapore.pdf |publisher=World Travel and Tourism Council|access-date= 23 October 2019|archive-date= 23 October 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191023135628/https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/benchmark-reports/country-reports-2017/singapore.pdf|url-status= dead}}

In 2015, Lonely Planet and The New York Times listed Singapore as their top and 6th-best world destinations to visit, respectively.{{cite news |title=52 Places to Visit in 2015 |date=1 January 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/11/travel/52-places-to-go-in-2015.html|access-date=11 December 2015}} Well-known landmarks include the Merlion,{{cite web |title=Merlion {{!}} Infopedia|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_938_2004-12-27.html|website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg|access-date=31 May 2020}} the Esplanade,{{cite web |title=Singapore's most iconic landmarks |url=https://www.visitsingapore.com/editorials/singapore-most-iconic-landmarks/ |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=visitsingapore.com}} Marina Bay Sands,{{Cite web |title=Marina Bay Sands |url=https://www.visitsingapore.com/see-do-singapore/recreation-leisure/resorts/marina-bay-sands/ |website=visitsingapore.com|access-date=31 May 2020}} Gardens by the Bay,{{cite web |title=Gardens by the Bay |url=https://www.visitsingapore.com/see-do-singapore/architecture/modern/gardens-by-the-bay/ |website=visitsingapore.com|access-date=31 May 2020}} Jewel Changi Airport,{{cite web |title=Jewel Changi Airport |url=https://www.visitsingapore.com/travel-guide-tips/travelling-to-singapore/changi-airport-singapore/jewel-changi-airport/ |website=visitsingapore.com|access-date=31 May 2020}} CHIJMES, National Gallery Singapore, the Singapore Flyer, the Orchard Road shopping belt, the resort island of Sentosa,{{cite web |title=Overview |url=https://www.sentosa.gov.sg/who-we-are/overview/ |website=sentosa.gov.sg|access-date=28 May 2020}} and the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore's first UNESCO World Heritage Site,{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-botanic-gardens-clinches-prestigious-unesco-world-heritage-site-status |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |title=Singapore Botanic Gardens clinches prestigious Unesco World Heritage site status |date=4 July 2015 |access-date=25 May 2020}} all located in southern and eastern Singapore.

File:010253 00001 Singapore, Victoria Theatre.jpg]]

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is the statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry which is tasked with the promotion of the country's tourism industry. In August 2017 the STB and the Economic Development Board (EDB) unveiled a unified brand, Singapore – Passion Made Possible, to market Singapore internationally for tourism and business purposes.{{cite press release |url=https://www.stb.gov.sg/news-and-publications/lists/newsroom/dispform.aspx?ID=713 |title=Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Economic Development Board launch Passion Made Possible Brand for Singapore |date=24 August 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181214201902/https://www.stb.gov.sg/news-and-publications/lists/newsroom/dispform.aspx?ID=713 |archive-date=14 December 2018|url-status=dead}} The Orchard Road district, which contains multi-storey shopping centres and hotels, can be considered the centre of shopping and tourism in Singapore.{{cite web |url=https://www.visitsingapore.com/see-do-singapore/places-to-see/orchard/ |title=Orchard Road: A shopping paradise |publisher=Singapore Tourism Board|access-date=27 August 2019}} Other popular tourist attractions include the Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Bird Paradise and Night Safari (located in Northern Singapore). The Singapore Zoo has embraced the open zoo concept whereby animals are kept in enclosures, separated from visitors by hidden dry or wet moats, instead of caging the animals, and the River Wonders has 300 species of animals, including numerous endangered species.{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_403_2005-01-19.html |title=Singapore Zoo |publisher=National Library Board|access-date=27 August 2019 |date=22 July 2014}} Singapore promotes itself as a medical tourism hub, with about 200,000 foreigners seeking medical care there each year. Singapore medical services aim to serve at least one million foreign patients annually and generate US$3 billion in revenue.{{cite news |last=Dogra |first=Sapna|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026013526/http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/20050731/medicaltourism01.shtml|archive-date=26 October 2005 |url=http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/20050731/medicaltourism01.shtml |date=16 July 2005 |location=Mumbai |title=Medical tourism boom takes Singapore by storm |url-status=usurped |newspaper=Express Healthcare Management}}

{{Main|Demographics of Singapore|Singaporeans}}

{{See also|Race in Singapore}}

File:KITLV - 103763 - Chinese and Malaysian women at Singapore - circa 1890.tif), Malay (Southeast Asian), and Indian (South Asian) women in Singapore, {{Circa|1890}}. To promote racial harmony among the three races, a unique Racial Harmony Day is celebrated on 21 July every year.]]

As of mid-2023, the estimated population of Singapore was 5,917,600, of whom 3,610,700 (61.6%) were citizens and the remaining 2,306,900 (38.4%) were either permanent residents (522,300) or international students, foreign workers, or dependants (1,644,500).{{cite web |title=Population and Population Structure |publisher=Department of Statistics Singapore |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/population-and-population-structure/latest-data|access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116052657/https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/population-and-population-structure/latest-data |archive-date=16 November 2023}} The overall population increased 5% from the prior year, driven largely by foreign workers.{{Cite web |last=Kok |first=Xinghui |title=Singapore's population grows 5% as foreign workers return post-pandemic |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapores-population-grows-5-foreign-workers-return-post-pandemic-2023-09-29/ |website=Reuters|date=29 September 2023 }} This proportion is largely unchanged from the 2010 census.{{cite report |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/c2010acr.pdf |title=Census of Population 2010 Advance Census Release |pages=13–16 |isbn=978-981-08-6819-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327064912/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/c2010acr.pdf|archive-date=27 March 2012|url-status=dead |publisher=Singapore Department of Statistics |year=2010|access-date=2 July 2011}}[https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/migration/mig-stock.pdf "Trends in international migrant stock: The 2008 revision"], United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2009).

The 2020 census reported that about 74.3% of residents were of Chinese descent, 13.5% of Malay descent, 9.0% of Indian descent, and 3.2% of other descent (such as Eurasian); this proportion was virtually identical to the 2010 census, with slight increases among Chinese and Malay (0.2% and 0.1% respectively) and minor decreases in Indian and others (0.2% and 0.1%).[https://www.parliament.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/cop2020sr1.pdf Singapore Department of Statistics | Census of Population 2020 Statistical Release 1 – Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion], p. 20. Prior to 2010, each person could register as a member of only one race, by default that of his or her father; therefore, mixed-race persons were solely grouped under their father's race in government censuses. From 2010 onward, people may register using a multi-racial classification, in which they may choose one primary race and one secondary race, but no more than two.{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1030142/1/.html |title=Singaporeans of mixed race allowed to 'double barrel' race in IC |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |author=Hoe Yeen Nie |date=12 January 2010 |access-date=18 February 2011 |archive-date=6 February 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100206100917/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1030142/1/.html |url-status=dead}}

Like other developed countries in Asia, Singapore experienced a rapid decline in its total fertility rate (TFR) beginning in the 1980s.{{Cite web |title=Lessons from Singapore on Raising Fertility Rates – IMF F&D |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/03/lessons-from-singapore-on-raising-fertility-rates-tan |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=IMF |language=en}} Since 2010, its TFR has largely plateaued at 1.1 children per woman, which is among the lowest in the world and well below the 2.1 needed to replace the population.{{Cite web |title=World Bank Open Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/ |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=World Bank Open Data |quote=Fertility rate, total (births per woman) – Singapore; ( 1 ) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2022 Revision. ( 2 ) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, ( 3 ) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, ( 4 ) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report ( various years ), ( 5 ) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and ( 6 ) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.}} Consequently, the median age of Singaporean residents is among the highest in the world, at 42.8 in 2022 compared to 39.6 ten years earlier.{{Cite web |title=Singapore: citizen population median age 1970–2022 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1304574/singapore-citizen-population-median-age/ |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=Statista |language=en}} Starting in 2001, the government introduced a series of programmes to increase fertility, including paid maternity leave, childcare subsidies, tax relief and rebates, one-time cash gifts, and grants for companies that implement flexible work arrangements; nevertheless, live births have continued to decline, hitting a record low in 2022.{{Cite web |last=Jacob |first=Charmaine |date=18 September 2023 |title=Singapore's birth rate is at a record low — but 'throwing money' at the problem won't solve it |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/18/singapores-birth-rate-is-falling-and-throwing-money-at-the-problem-wont-solve-it-.html |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=CNBC |language=en}} Singapore's immigration policy is designed to alleviate the decline and maintain its working-age population.{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/257208/1/.html |title=Singapore's birth trend outlook remains dismal |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |date=7 February 2007 |first=Julia |last=Ng|access-date=22 April 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105180711/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/257208/1/.html|archive-date=5 January 2012}}{{cite news |last1=O'Callaghan |first1=John |title=Tiny Singapore risks economic gloom without big baby boom |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-singapore-babies/tiny-singapore-risks-economic-gloom-without-big-baby-boom-idUKLNE87U00H20120831 |access-date=17 May 2021 |work=Reuters |date=31 August 2012}}Jessica Pan and Walter Theseira, [https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/080a4bc64cc8a9eb8a2a0e98d97a260a-0050062023/original/WDR-Immigration-in-Singapore-FORMATTED.pdf Immigration in Singapore] – Background paper to the World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies (April 2023)

91% of resident households (i.e. households headed by a Singapore citizen or permanent resident) own the homes they live in, and the average household size is 3.43 persons (which include dependants who are neither citizens nor permanent residents).{{cite web |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/households/households/latest-data |title=Statistics Singapore – Latest Data – Households & Housing|access-date=27 February 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#20 |title=Statistics Singapore – Latest Data – Households & Housing |year=2014 |publisher=Statistics Singapore|access-date=20 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129094649/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#20|archive-date=29 November 2015|url-status=dead}} However, due to scarcity of land, 78.7% of resident households live in subsidised, high-rise, public housing apartments developed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). Also, 75.9% of resident households live in properties that are equal to, or larger than, a four-room (i.e. three bedrooms plus one living room) HDB flat or in private housing.{{cite web |title=Singapore Resident Households by dwellings |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/modules/infographics/-/media/Files/visualising_data/infographics/Population/singapore-population13022019|access-date=15 February 2015|archive-date=15 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215160407/https://www.singstat.gov.sg/modules/infographics/-/media/Files/visualising_data/infographics/Population/singapore-population13022019|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10320p.nsf/w/HDBWinsUNAward?OpenDocument|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211145036/http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10320p.nsf/w/HDBWinsUNAward?OpenDocument|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 December 2011 |title=HDB InfoWEB: HDB Wins the 2010 UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour Award |publisher=Hdb.gov.sg|access-date=14 October 2013}} Live-in foreign domestic workers are quite common in Singapore, with about 224,500 foreign domestic workers there, as of December 2013.{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-than-1-3-million/1297688.html |title=More than 1.3 million foreigners working in Singapore: Tan Chuan-Jin |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |date=5 August 2014|access-date=26 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914232514/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-than-1-3-million/1297688.html|archive-date=14 September 2014}}

{{Largest planning areas of Singapore}}

{{Main|Religion in Singapore}}

Most major religious denominations are present in Singapore, with the Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore (IRO) recognising 10 major religions in the city state.{{cite web |title=Introduction – Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore |url=https://iro.sg/about-iro/ |access-date=10 July 2022 |language=en-US}} A 2014 analysis by the Pew Research Center found Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation, with no single religion claiming a majority.{{cite web |date=4 April 2014 |title=Global Religious Diversity |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/04/04/global-religious-diversity/ |access-date=10 July 2022 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}{{bar box

|title=Religion in Singapore, 2020

|titlebar=#ddd

|left1=Religion

|right1=Percent

|float=right

|bars=

{{bar percent|Buddhism|gold|31.1}}

{{bar percent|No religion|grey|20.0}}

{{bar percent|Christianity|purple|18.9}}

{{bar percent|Islam|green|15.6}}

{{bar percent|Taoism and folk religion|red|8.8}}

{{bar percent|Hinduism|orange|5.0}}

{{bar percent|Other religions|blue|0.6}}

}}

Buddhism is the most widely practised religion, with 31% of residents declaring themselves adherents in the 2020 census. Christianity was the second largest religion at 18.9%, followed by Islam (15.6%), Taoism and Chinese Traditional Beliefs (8.8%) and Hinduism (5.0%). One-fifth of the population had no religious affiliation. The proportion of Christians, Muslims, and the nonreligious slightly increased between 2010 and 2020, while the proportion of Buddhists and Taoists slightly decreased; Hinduism and other faiths remained largely stable in their share of the population.{{cite press release |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/news/news/press12012011.pdf |title=Census of population 2010: Statistical Release 1 on Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion |publisher=Singapore Department of Statistics |date=12 January 2011 |access-date=16 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110124160522/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/news/news/press12012011.pdf |archive-date=24 January 2011}}{{cn|date=March 2025|reason=The sentence discusses an increase between 2010 and 2020, but the citation is from 2011.}}

Singapore hosts monasteries and Dharma centres from all three major traditions of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Most Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese and adhere to the Mahayana tradition,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBdX2ELnkXQC&pg=PR8 |title=State, society, and religious engineering: toward a reformist Buddhism in Singapore |author=Khun Eng Kuah |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |location=Singapore |access-date=1 November 2010 |isbn=978-981-230-865-8 |year=2009}} owing to decades of missionary activity from China. However, Thailand's Theravada Buddhism has seen growing popularity among the populace (not only the Chinese) during the past decade. Soka Gakkai International, a Japanese Buddhist organisation, is practised by many people in Singapore, and mostly by those of Chinese descent. Tibetan Buddhism has also made slow inroads into the country in recent years.{{cite news |title=Modernity in south-east Asia |publisher=Informaworld |date=2 December 1995}}

{{Main|Languages of Singapore}}

Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil.{{Singapore legislation|title=Republic of Singapore Independence Act|ed=1985}}, s7.

{{bar box

|title=Language used most frequently at home

|titlebar=#ddd

|left1=Language

|right1=Percent

|float=right

|bars=

{{bar percent|English|blue|48.3}}

{{bar percent|Mandarin|yellow|29.9}}

{{bar percent|Malay|red|9.2}}

{{bar percent|Other Sinitic languages|purple|8.7}}

{{bar percent|Tamil|green|2.5}}

{{bar percent|Others|grey|1.4}}

}}

English is the lingua franca{{cite journal |url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/staff/afg/pragp3.doc |title=Epistemic modalities and the discourse particles of Singapore |first=A.F. |last=Gupta |editor=Fischer, K. |format=DOC |journal=Approaches to Discourse Particles |publisher=Elsevier |location=Amsterdam |pages=244–263|access-date=2 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205010214/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/staff/afg/pragp3.doc|archive-date=5 February 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite press release |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp31032000a.htm |date=31 March 2000 |title=Global Literacy: The advantage of speaking good English |publisher=Ministry of Education |access-date=27 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306034004/http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp31032000a.htm|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead}}Tan, Sherman, p. 340–341. "The four recognised official languages are English, Mandarin, Tamil, and Malay, but in practice, English is Singapore's default lingua franca." and the main language used in business, government, law and education.{{cite web |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/eumd-partnership-webzine-october-2010-country-focus.htm#singapore|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110402172957/http://www.britishcouncil.org/eumd-partnership-webzine-october-2010-country-focus.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 April 2011 |title=Education UK Partnership – Country focus |date=October 2010 |publisher=British Council|access-date=27 February 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2010/04/19/speech-by-mr-s-iswaran-at-the-apec-relc-int-seminar-opening-ceremony.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519070557/http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2010/04/19/speech-by-mr-s-iswaran-at-the-apec-relc-int-seminar-opening-ceremony.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 May 2011 |title=Speech by Mr S. Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education |date=19 April 2010 |publisher=Ministry of Education}} The Constitution of Singapore and all government legislation is written in English, and interpreters are required if a language other than English is used in the Singaporean courts.{{cite web |title=What do I do if I can't speak English? |url=http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/criminal/page.aspx?pageid=64541#faq13-9|access-date=11 October 2011 |publisher=Singapore Subordinate Courts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709074333/http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/criminal/page.aspx?pageid=64541|archive-date=9 July 2010}}{{Singapore legislation|title=Constitution}} Statutory corporations conduct their businesses in English, while any official documents written in a non-English official language such as Malay, Mandarin, or Tamil are typically translated into English to be accepted for use.{{cite web |url=http://www.careers.gov.sg/the-singapore-public-service/public-agencies|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106063743/http://www.careers.gov.sg/the-singapore-public-service/public-agencies|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 January 2015 |title=Public Agencies |date=6 January 2015|access-date=21 September 2018}}Dixon, L. Quentin. (2005). The Bilingual Education Policy in Singapore: Implications for Second Language Acquisition. In James Cohen, J., McAlister, K. T., Rolstad, K., and MacSwan, J (Eds.), ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism. p. 625–635, Cascadilla Press, Somerville, MA.{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp31032000a.htm |title=31 March 2000 |publisher=Moe.gov.sg|access-date=27 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306034004/http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp31032000a.htm|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead}}

Malay was designated as a national language by the Singaporean government after independence from Britain in the 1960s to avoid friction with Singapore's Malay-speaking neighbours of Malaysia and Indonesia. It has a symbolic, rather than functional purpose.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQgjrpgdU6gC&pg=PA42 |title=Language and society in Singapore |publisher=Singapore University Press |first1=Evangelos A. |last1=Afendras |first2=Eddie C.Y. |last2=Kuo |year=1980 |isbn=978-9971-69-016-8 |access-date=27 February 2011}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMZm0w0k1c4C&pg=PA2018 |title=Sociolinguistics: An international handbook of the science of language and society |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |location=Berlin |first1=Ulrich |last1=Ammon |first2=Norbert |last2=Dittmar |first3=Klaus J. |last3=Mattheier |volume=3 |year=2006 |isbn=978-3-11-018418-1 |access-date=27 February 2011}} It is used in the national anthem Majulah Singapura,{{Singapore legislation |title=Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act |cap=296 |ed=1985}} in citations of Singaporean orders and decorations and in military commands.{{cite web |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/papers/people/c2000adr-literacy.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091113162718/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/papers/people/c2000adr-literacy.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2009 |url-status=dead |title=Literacy and Language |publisher=Singapore Statistics |access-date=27 February 2011}} Singaporean Malay is officially written in the Latin-based Rumi script, though some Singaporean Malays also learn the Arabic-based Jawi script.{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Vivian |last2=Bassetti |first2=Benedetta |title=Second Language Writing Systems |date=2005 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-85359-793-0 |page=359 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDLVaYJkyHUC}} Jawi is considered an ethnic script for use on Singaporean identity cards.{{cite web |url=https://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=140 |title=Update Change of Name in IC |publisher=Immigration and Checkpoints Authority |access-date=29 January 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170202101218/https://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=140 |archive-date=2 February 2017}}

Singaporeans are mostly bilingual, typically with English as their common language and their mother-tongue as a second language taught in schools, in order to preserve each individual's ethnic identity and values. According to the 2020 census, English was the language most spoken at home, used by 48.3% of the population; Mandarin was next, spoken at home by 29.9%.{{cite web |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/publications/publications_and_papers/GHS/ghs2015/findings.pdf |title=General Household Survey 2015 |year=2015|access-date=15 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215063843/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/publications/publications_and_papers/GHS/ghs2015/findings.pdf|archive-date=15 December 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |last=Oi |first=Mariko |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11468401 |title=Singapore's booming appetite to study Mandarin |publisher=BBC News |date=5 October 2010|access-date=27 February 2011}} Nearly half a million speak other ancestral Southern varieties of Chinese, mainly Hokkien, Teochew, and Cantonese, as their home language, although the use of these is declining in favour of Mandarin or just English.{{cite web |year=2005 |title=General Household Survey 2005, Statistical Release 1: Socio-Demographic and Economic Characteristics |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/education-language-spoken-and-literacy/visualising-data|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326052305/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/ghsr1/chap2.pdf|archive-date=26 March 2012|access-date=11 November 2010 |website= |publisher=Singapore Statistics}} Singapore Chinese characters are written using simplified Chinese characters.{{cite book |last1=Fagao Zhou |title=Papers in Chinese Linguistics and Epigraphy |date=1986 |publisher=Chinese University Press |isbn=978-962-201-317-9 |page=56 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NEzEo5Y8B3oC|access-date=31 January 2017}}

Singaporean English is largely based on British English, owing to the country's status as a former crown colony.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/children/481 |title=What are some commonly misspelled English words?|ASK!ASK!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303222846/https://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/children/481|archive-date=3 March 2012|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/children/481 |title=What are some commonly misspelled English words? |publisher=National Library Board |location=Singapore |date=18 April 2008|access-date=18 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303222846/https://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/children/481|archive-date=3 March 2012}} However, forms of English spoken in Singapore range from Standard Singapore English to a colloquial form known as Singlish, which is discouraged by the government as it claims it to be a substandard English creole that handicaps Singaporeans, presenting an obstacle to learning standard English and rendering the speaker incomprehensible to everyone except to another Singlish speaker.{{cite news |author=Tan Hwee Hwee |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020729-322685,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429011917/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020729-322685,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 April 2007 |title=A war of words is brewing over Singlish |newspaper=Time |location=New York |date=22 July 2002|access-date=18 February 2011}} Standard Singapore English is fully understandable to all Standard English speakers, while most English-speaking people do not understand Singlish. Nevertheless, Singaporeans have a strong sense of identity and connection to Singlish, whereby the existence of Singlish is recognised as a distinctive cultural marker for many Singaporeans.{{cite web |last=Harbeck |first=James |date=19 September 2016 |title=The language the government tried to suppress |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160919-the-language-the-government-tried-to-suppress |access-date=1 May 2022 |publisher=BBC}} As such, in recent times, the government has tolerated the diglossia of both Singlish and Standard English (only for those who are fluent in both), whilst continuously reinforcing the importance of Standard English amongst those who speak only Singlish (which is not mutually intelligible with the Standard English of other English-speaking countries).

{{Main|Education in Singapore}}

File:University Hall, National University of Singapore, February 2020.jpg is one of six autonomous universities in the city-state.]]

Education for primary, secondary, and tertiary levels is mostly supported by the state. All institutions, public and private, must be registered with the Ministry of Education (MOE).{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/private-education/ |title=Private Education in Singapore |publisher=Ministry of Education |year=2011|access-date=2 July 2011}} English is the language of instruction in all public schools,{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/international-students/general-info/ |title=International Student Admissions: General Information on Studying in Singapore |publisher=Ministry of Education|access-date=27 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304134017/http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/international-students/general-info/|archive-date=4 March 2011}} and all subjects are taught and examined in English except for the "mother tongue" language paper.{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/scholarships/asean/faq/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406231811/http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/scholarships/asean/faq/|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 April 2008 |title=ASEAN Scholarships: Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Ministry of Education|access-date=27 February 2011}} While the term "mother tongue" in general refers to the first language internationally, in Singapore's education system, it is used to refer to the second language, as English is the first language.{{cite press release |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2003/sp20030215a.htm |title=Speech by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Education at the Seminar on "The Significance of Speaking Skills For Language Development", organised by the Tamil Language and Culture Division of Nie on 15 February 2003 |publisher=Ministry of Education |date=2 January 2008|access-date=27 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515193809/http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2003/sp20030215a.htm|archive-date=15 May 2011}}{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1065927/1/.html |title=Mandarin is important but remains a second language in S'pore MM Lee |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |date=26 June 2010|access-date=27 February 2011|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630180427/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1065927/1/.html|url-status=dead}} Students who have been abroad for a while, or who struggle with their "Mother Tongue" language, are allowed to take a simpler syllabus or drop the subject.{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/returning-singaporeans/mother-tongue-policy/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408195106/http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/returning-singaporeans/mother-tongue-policy/|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 April 2008 |title=Returning Singaporeans – Mother-Tongue Language Policy |publisher=Ministry of Education|access-date=27 February 2011}}{{cite press release |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2004/pr20040109.htm |title=Refinements to Mother Tongue Language Policy |publisher=Ministry of Education|access-date=27 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224021851/http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2004/pr20040109.htm|archive-date=24 February 2011}}

Education takes place in three stages: primary, secondary, and pre-university education, with the primary education being compulsory. Students begin with six years of primary school, which is made up of a four-year foundation course and a two-year orientation stage. The curriculum is focused on the development of English, the mother tongue, mathematics, and science.{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/primary/ |title=Primary Education |publisher=Ministry of Education |year=2011|access-date=2 July 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/primary/curriculum/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407095703/http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/primary/curriculum/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 April 2008 |title=Primary School Curriculum |publisher=Ministry of Education |year=2011|access-date=2 July 2011}} Secondary school lasts from four to five years, and is divided between Express, Normal (Academic), and Normal (Technical) streams in each school, depending on a student's ability level.{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary/ |title=Secondary Education |publisher=Ministry of Education |year=2011|access-date=2 July 2011}} The basic coursework breakdown is the same as in the primary level, although classes are much more specialised.{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary/express/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407202048/http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary/express/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 April 2008 |title=Special/Express Courses Curriculum |publisher=Ministry of Education |year=2011|access-date=2 July 2011}} Pre-university education takes place at either the 21 Junior Colleges or the Millennia Institute, over a period of two and three years respectively.{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/pre-u/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405194544/http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/pre-u/|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 April 2008 |title=Pre-University Education |publisher=Ministry of Education |year=2011|access-date=2 July 2011}} As alternatives to pre-university education, however, courses are offered in other post-secondary education institutions, including the 5 polytechnics and 3 ITE colleges. Singapore has six public universities,{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/how-singapores-six-public-universities-differ |title=How Singapore's six public universities differ |date=3 March 2015 |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore|access-date=23 September 2016}} of which the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University are among the top 20 universities in the world.{{cite web |url=http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2015 |title=QS World University Rankings 2015/16 |publisher=QS|access-date=15 November 2016 |date=11 September 2015}}

National examinations are standardised across all schools, with a test taken after each stage. After the first six years of education, students take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), which determines their placement at secondary school. At the end of the secondary stage, O-Level or N-Level exams are taken;{{cite web |url=https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary |title=Secondary |publisher=Ministry of Education|access-date=2 December 2016}} at the end of the following pre-university stage, the GCE A-Level exams are taken.{{cite web |url=https://www.moe.gov.sg/images/default-source/default-album/sg-education-landscape-print9e3a5a33f22f6eceb9b0ff0000fcc945.jpg |title=Singapore's Education System: An Overview |publisher=Ministry of Education|access-date=6 December 2016}} Some schools have a degree of freedom in their curriculum and are known as autonomous schools, for secondary education level and above.

Singapore is also an education hub, with more than 80,000 international students in 2006.{{cite web |url=http://www.eahep.org/asiahigher-education/asian-policy-drivers/127-developing-asian-education-hubs.html |title=Developing Asian education hubs |year=2011 |publisher=EU-Asia Higher Education Platform|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023215241/http://www.eahep.org/asiahigher-education/asian-policy-drivers/127-developing-asian-education-hubs.html|archive-date=23 October 2011|access-date=12 October 2011}} 5,000 Malaysian students cross the Johor–Singapore Causeway daily to attend schools in Singapore.{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/new-straits-times/mi_8016/is_20060507/ride/ai_n44321524/ |title=The long, long ride |date=7 May 2006 |work=New Straits Times|access-date=12 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615140344/http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/new-straits-times/mi_8016/is_20060507/ride/ai_n44321524/|archive-date=15 June 2013 |location=Kuala Lumpur}} [http://jaring.general.narkive.com/l1ulIlar/the-long-long-ride Alt URL] In 2009, 20% of all students in Singaporean universities were international students—the maximum cap allowed, a majority from ASEAN, China and India.{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/parliamentary-replies/2009/03/foreign-students-in-singapore.php |title=Foreign Students in Singapore |year=2011 |publisher=Ministry of Education|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409150704/http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/parliamentary-replies/2009/03/foreign-students-in-singapore.php|archive-date=9 April 2009|access-date=12 October 2011}}

Singapore students have excelled in many of the world education benchmarks in maths, science and reading. In 2015, both its primary and secondary students rank first in OECD's global school performance rankings across 76 countries—described as the most comprehensive map of education standards.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/13/singapore-tops-oecds-global-school-ranking-us-placed-28th.html |title=Singapore tops OECD's global school ranking, US placed 28th |date=13 May 2015 |publisher=CNBC}}{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/singapore-tops-biggest-global-education-rankings-published-by-oecd |title=Singapore tops biggest global education rankings published by OECD |date=13 May 2015 |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore}} In 2016, Singapore students topped both the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA){{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/education-38212070 |title=Pisa tests: Singapore top in global education rankings |date=7 December 2016 |publisher=BBC News}}{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/06/world/pisa-global-education-rankings/ |title=PISA: Singapore teens top global education ranking |date=6 December 2016 |publisher=CNN}}{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2e4c61f2-4ec8-11e6-8172-e39ecd3b86fc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/2e4c61f2-4ec8-11e6-8172-e39ecd3b86fc |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Why Singapore's kids are so good at maths |date=22 July 2016 |work=Financial Times |location=London}}{{cite news |url=http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/spore-teens-top-second-global-test-maths-science-reading |title=S'pore students top in science, maths and reading in Pisa test |newspaper=Today |location=Singapore |date=6 December 2016}} and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/singapore-students-top-in-maths-science-and-reading-in-international |title=Singapore students top in maths, science and reading in Pisa international benchmarking test |date=6 December 2016 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore}}{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-teenagers-lose-ground-in-international-math-exam-raising-competitiveness-concerns-1481018401 |title=U.S. Teenagers Lose Ground in International Math Exam, Raising Competitiveness Concerns |date=6 December 2016 |work=The Wall Street Journal |location=New York}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/dec/06/english-schools-core-subject-test-results-international-oecd-pisa |title=UK Schools climb international league table |date=6 December 2016 |work=The Guardian |location=London}} In the 2016 EF English Proficiency Index taken in 72 countries, Singapore placed 6th and has been the only Asian country in the top ten.{{Cite news |url=https://asiatimes.com/article/singaporeans-among-top-english-speakers-hong-kong-slides/ |title=Singaporeans among top English speakers; Hong Kong slides |last=Nylander |first=Johan |date=14 November 2016 |newspaper=Asia Times Online |location=Hong Kong|access-date=16 November 2016}}{{cite news |url=http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dutch-pass-danes-become-worlds-080000181.html |title=Dutch Pass Danes to Become World's Best English Speakers |date=15 November 2016 |work=Yahoo News|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808041145/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dutch-pass-danes-become-worlds-080000181.html|archive-date=8 August 2017}}{{cite news |url=http://nordic.businessinsider.com/the-nordics-have-the-highest-english-proficiency-in-the-world---and-its-boosting-their-tech-and-innovation-2016-11 |title=The Nordics have the highest English proficiency in the world – and it's boosting their tech and innovation |date=16 November 2016 |work=Business Insider|access-date=6 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713204753/http://nordic.businessinsider.com/the-nordics-have-the-highest-english-proficiency-in-the-world---and-its-boosting-their-tech-and-innovation-2016-11|archive-date=13 July 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/how-well-is-english-spoken-worldwide/3597100.html |title=How Well is English Spoken Worldwide? |date=15 November 2016 |work=Voice of America News}}

{{Main|Healthcare in Singapore}}

File:NUH Medical Centre (2025) - img 02.jpg is the second largest hospital in the city, serving one million patients yearly.]]

Singapore has a generally efficient healthcare system, although health expenditure per capita is relatively low compared with other developed countries.{{cite web |year=2010 |url=http://www.watsonwyatt.com/europe/pubs/healthcare/render2.asp?ID=13850|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121210052940/http://www.watsonwyatt.com/europe/pubs/healthcare/render2.asp?ID=13850|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 December 2012 |title=The Singapore health system – achieving positive health outcomes with low expenditure |last=Tucci |first=John |publisher=Towers Watson|access-date=16 March 2011}} The World Health Organisation ranks Singapore's healthcare system as 6th overall in the world in its World Health Report.{{cite press release |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/07-02-2000-world-health-organization-assesses-the-world's-health-systems |title=World Health Organization Assesses the World's Health Systems |date=7 February 2000 |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=13 March 2023}} Singapore has had the lowest infant mortality rates in the world for the past two decades.{{cite web |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#16 |title=Latest Data – Births & Deaths |publisher=Department of Statistics |year=2014 |access-date=26 April 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151129094649/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#16 |archive-date=29 November 2015|url-status=dead}} In 2019, Singaporeans had the longest life expectancy of any country at 84.8 years. Women can expect to live an average of 87.6 years with 75.8 years in good health. The averages are lower for men.{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/singapore-tops-in-life-expectancy-at-848-years |title=Singaporeans have world's longest life expectancy at 84.8 years |date=20 June 2019 |work=The Straits Times}} Singapore is ranked 1st on the Global Food Security Index.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-world-s-best-countries-for-food-security.html |title=The World's Best Countries For Food Security |website=worldatlas.com |date=18 April 2019}}

As of December 2011 and January 2013, 8,800 foreigners and 5,400 Singaporeans were respectively diagnosed with HIV,{{cite news |url=https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/data-of-14200-people-with-hiv-leaked-online-by-american-fraudstermoh |title=Data of 14,200 people with HIV leaked online by American fraudster: MOH |work=Business Times |location=Singapore |date=28 January 2019}} but there are fewer than 10 annual deaths from HIV per 100,000 people. Adult obesity is below 10%.{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/gho/countries/sgp.pdf |title=Singapore: Health Profile |publisher=World Health Organization |location=Geneva |date=13 August 2010|access-date=16 March 2011}} There is a high level of immunisation.{{cite web |url=https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/singapore.html |publisher=Unicef |title=At a glance: Singapore |access-date=27 August 2019 |archive-date=27 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827112425/https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/singapore.html |url-status=dead}} In 2013, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore as having the best quality of life in Asia and sixth overall in the world.[https://www.economist.com/news/21566430-where-be-born-2013-lottery-life "The lottery of life"]. The Economist. London. 21 November 2012.

The government's healthcare system is based upon the "3M" framework. This has three components: Medifund, which provides a safety net for those not able to otherwise afford healthcare; Medisave, a compulsory national medical savings account system covering about 85% of the population; and Medishield, a government-funded health insurance programme. Public hospitals in Singapore have considerable autonomy in their management decisions, and notionally compete for patients, but remain in government ownership.{{cite journal |last1=Ramesh |first1=M. |title=Autonomy and Control in Public Hospital Reforms in Singapore |journal=The American Review of Public Administration |date=2008 |volume=38 |issue=1 |page=18 |doi=10.1177/0275074007301041 |s2cid=154781227}} A subsidy scheme exists for those on low income.{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/whr/2000/en/whr00_en.pdf |title=The World Health Report |publisher=World Health Organization |page=66 |year=2000|access-date=16 March 2011}} In 2008, 32% of healthcare was funded by the government. Healthcare accounts for approximately 3.5% of Singapore's GDP.{{cite web |url=http://apps.who.int/whosis/database/core/core_select_process.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726062457/http://apps.who.int/whosis/database/core/core_select_process.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 July 2009 |title=Core Health Indicators Singapore |publisher=World Health Organization |date=May 2008|access-date=16 March 2011}}

{{Main|Culture of Singapore}}

File:Sri Mariamman Temple Singapore 3 amk.jpg district, Singapore's oldest Hindu temple since 1827.]]

Despite its small size, Singapore has a diversity of languages, religions, and cultures.{{cite web |url=http://www.singapore21.org.sg/speeches_050599.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010210223621/http://www.singapore21.org.sg/speeches_050599.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 February 2001 |title=Speech by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on Singapore 21 Debate in Parliament |publisher=singapore21 |date=5 May 1999|access-date=27 October 2011}} Former prime ministers of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, have stated that Singapore does not fit the traditional description of a nation, calling it a society-in-transition, pointing out the fact that Singaporeans do not all speak the same language, share the same religion, or have the same customs.{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/443304/1/.html |title=MM Lee says Singapore needs to do more to achieve nationhood |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |date=5 May 2009|access-date=27 October 2011|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630175421/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/443304/1/.html|url-status=dead}} Singaporeans who speak English as their native language would likely lean toward Western culture (along with either Christian culture or secularism),{{cite journal |last1=B. H. Goh |first1=Robbie |title=Christian identities in Singapore: religion, race and culture between state controls and transnational flows |journal=Journal of Cultural Geography |year=2009 |volume=26 |pages=1–23 |publisher=routledge |doi=10.1080/08873630802617135 |s2cid=144728013|doi-access=free}} while those who speak Chinese as their native language mostly lean toward Chinese culture, which has linkages with Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Malay-speaking Singaporeans mostly lean toward Malay culture, which itself is closely linked to Islamic culture.{{cite journal |last1=Siddique |first1=Sharon |title=Some Aspects of Malay-Muslim Ethnicity in Peninsular Malaysia |journal=Contemporary Southeast Asia |year=1981 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=76–87 |jstor=25797648 }}{{cite web |last1=Prystay |first1=Chris |title=Bit of Malay Culture Is Now Vanishing Under Muslim Rules |url=https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/bit-malay-culture-now-vanishing-under-muslim-rules |website=Yale GlobalOnline |publisher=Yale University |access-date=17 November 2018 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807072403/https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/bit-malay-culture-now-vanishing-under-muslim-rules |url-status=dead }} Tamil-speaking Singaporeans mostly lean toward Tamil culture, which itself is mostly linked to Hindu culture. Racial and religious harmony is regarded as a crucial part of Singapore's success, and played a part in building a Singaporean identity.{{cite web |url=http://www.singaporeunited.sg/cep/index.php/web/Our-News/PM-Lee-on-racial-and-religious-issues-National-Day-Rally-2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220195750/http://www.singaporeunited.sg/cep/index.php/web/Our-News/PM-Lee-on-racial-and-religious-issues-National-Day-Rally-2009|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2010 |title=PM Lee on racial and religious issues (National Day Rally 2009) |publisher=Singapore United |date=16 August 2009|access-date=27 February 2011}}{{cite web |last1=Prystay |first1=Chris |title=Bit of Malay Culture Is Now Vanishing Under Muslim Rules |url=https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/bit-malay-culture-now-vanishing-under-muslim-rules |website=YaleGlobal Online |publisher=Yale Universal |access-date=17 November 2018 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807072403/https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/bit-malay-culture-now-vanishing-under-muslim-rules |url-status=dead }}

When Singapore became independent from the United Kingdom in 1963, most Singaporean citizens were transient migrant labourers who had no intention of staying permanently.{{Cite book |title=Singapore : the making of a nation-state 1300–1975. Secondary Two, [Textbook] |author=Singapore, Curriculum Planning & Development Division |isbn=978-981-4448-45-1 |location=Singapore |oclc=903000193 |year=2015}} There was also a sizeable minority of middle-class, locally born people—known as Peranakans or Baba-Nyonya-descendants of 15th- and 16th-century Chinese immigrants. With the exception of the Peranakans who pledged their loyalties to Singapore, most of the labourers' loyalties lay with their respective homelands of Malaya, China and India. After independence, the government began a deliberate process of crafting a uniquely Singaporean identity and culture. Singapore has a reputation as a nanny state.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3861209.stm |title=Singapore slings a little caution to the wind |publisher=BBC News |date=16 August 2004|access-date=27 February 2011 |first=Andrew |last=Harding}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/business/worldbusiness/23casino.html?pagewanted=all |title=The Nanny State Places a Bet |work=The New York Times |date=16 August 2004|access-date=27 February 2011 |first=Wayne |last=Arnold}} The government also places a heavy emphasis on meritocracy, where one is judged based on one's ability.{{cite press release |url=http://www.pmo.gov.sg/content/pmosite/mediacentre/inthenews/ministermentor/2009/April/old_and_new_citizensgetequalchancesaysmmlee.html |title=Old and new citizens get equal chance, says MM Lee |publisher=Prime Minister's Office |date=5 May 2010|access-date=27 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812071843/http://www.pmo.gov.sg/content/pmosite/mediacentre/inthenews/ministermentor/2009/April/old_and_new_citizensgetequalchancesaysmmlee.html|archive-date=12 August 2011}}

The national flower of Singapore is the hybrid orchid, Vanda 'Miss Joaquim', named in memory of a Singapore-born Armenian woman, who crossbred the flower in her garden at Tanjong Pagar in 1893.{{cite web |title=National Flower |url=https://www.nhb.gov.sg/what-we-do/our-work/community-engagement/education/resources/national-symbols/national-flower |website=nhb.gov.sg |publisher=National Heritage Board}} Singapore is known as the Lion City and many national symbols such as the coat of arms and the lion head symbol make use of a lion. Major religious festivals are public holidays.{{cite news |title=Ministry of Manpower issues response on debate over Thaipusam public holiday |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ministry-of-manpower-issues-response-on-debate-over-thaipusam-public-holiday|access-date=4 July 2018 |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=13 February 2015}}

{{further|Dance in Singapore|Singaporean literature|Music of Singapore}}

File:National Gallery 2 (31322988764).jpg oversees the world's largest public collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art.]]

During the 1990s the National Arts Council was created to spearhead the development of performing arts, along with visual and literary art forms.{{cite web |url=http://www.mica.gov.sg/renaissance/FinalRen.pdf |title=Culture and the Arts in Renaissance Singapore |publisher=Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts|access-date=1 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524013952/http://www.mica.gov.sg/renaissance/FinalRen.pdf|archive-date=24 May 2006}} The National Gallery Singapore is the nation's flagship museum with some 8,000 works from Singaporean and other Southeast Asian artists. The Singapore Art Museum focuses on contemporary art from a Southeast Asian perspective.{{Cite web |title=About {{!}} Singapore Art Museum |url=https://www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/en/about |access-date=25 May 2024 |website=www.singaporeartmuseum.sg |language=en}} The Red Dot Design Museum celebrates exceptional art and design of objects for everyday life, hosting more than 1,000 items from 50 countries. The lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum hosts touring exhibitions that combine art with the sciences. Other major museums include the Asian Civilisations Museum, the Peranakan Museum, and The Arts House.{{cite news |last1=NN |first1=Soorya Kiran |title=Painting our own canvas |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/painting-our-own-canvas|access-date=17 August 2018 |work=The Straits Times |date=29 November 2015}} The Esplanade is Singapore's largest performing arts centre. In 2016 alone, it was the site of 5,900 free art and culture events.{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1827_2011-08-05.html |title=Esplanade-Theatres on the bay |date=7 July 2016 |author=Faizah bte Zakaria|access-date=16 March 2018}}{{cite news |last1=Wintle |first1=Angela |title=Singlish, cultural diversity and hawker food essential in forging a national identity, say celebs |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singlish-cultural-diversity-and-hawker-food-essential-in-forging-8226060 |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |date=5 February 2016|access-date=17 August 2018|archive-date=21 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221192042/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singlish-cultural-diversity-and-hawker-food-essential-in-forging-8226060|url-status=dead}}

Literature of Singapore, or "SingLit", consists of a collection of literary works by Singaporeans written chiefly in the country's four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. Singapore is increasingly regarded as having four sub-literatures instead of one. Many significant works have been translated and showcased in publications such as the literary journal Singa, published in the 1980s and 1990s with editors including Edwin Thumboo and Koh Buck Song, as well as in multilingual anthologies such as Rhythms: A Singaporean Millennial Anthology Of Poetry (2000), in which the poems were all translated three times each. A number of Singaporean writers such as Tan Swie Hian and Kuo Pao Kun have contributed work in more than one language.{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/poet-feature-singapores-unique-language-in-literature |title=Singapore Writers Festival: Feature Singapore's unique language in literature, says poet |newspaper=The Straits Times|access-date=27 August 2019 |date=5 November 2018 |last1=Toh |first1=Wen Li}}{{cite web |url=https://www3.ntu.edu.sg/home/kbolton/pdf/(2014)%20Bolton%20and%20Ng.pdf |title=The dynamics of multilingualism in contemporary Singapore |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|access-date=27 August 2019|archive-date=28 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328194001/http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/home/kbolton/pdf/(2014)%20Bolton%20and%20Ng.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Singapore has a diverse music culture that ranges from pop and rock, to folk and classical. Western classical music plays a significant role in the cultural life in Singapore, with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) instituted in 1979. Other notable western orchestras in Singapore include Singapore National Youth Orchestra{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/snyo/ |title=Singapore National Youth Orchestra |website=Ministry of Education|access-date=5 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009101537/http://www.moe.gov.sg/snyo/|archive-date=9 October 2014|url-status=live}} and the community-based Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra.{{cite web |url=http://www.timeoutsingapore.com/music/feature/adrian-tan-new-music-director-braddell-heights-symphony-orchestra |title=Music director Adrian Tan ushers in new era for Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra |last=Ang |first=Steven |website=Time Out Singapore|access-date=5 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006150746/http://www.timeoutsingapore.com/music/feature/adrian-tan-new-music-director-braddell-heights-symphony-orchestra|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=live}} Many orchestras and ensembles are also found in secondary schools and junior colleges. Various communities have their own distinct ethnic musical traditions: Chinese, Malays, Indians, and Eurasians. With their traditional forms of music and various modern musical styles, the fusion of different forms account for the musical diversity in the country.{{cite book |title=The Garland Handbook of Southeast Asian Music |editor1=Terry Miller |editor2=Sean Williams |chapter=Singapore |author=Lee Tong Soon |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-96075-5 |year=2008}} The nation's lively urban musical scene has made it a centre for international performances and festivals in the region. Some of Singapore's best known pop singers include Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, Liang Wern Fook, Taufik Batisah and Dick Lee, who is famous for composing National Day theme songs, including Home.{{Cite news |title=An A-Z of the nation's iconic talents |date=17 February 2019 |work=The Sunday Times}}{{cite news |last1=NN |first1=Soorya Kiran |title=Here's why Stefanie Sun's a Singapore icon |url=http://www.asiaone.com/entertainment/heres-why-stefanie-suns-singapore-icon|access-date=17 August 2018 |work=AsiaOne |date=20 August 2017}}

{{Main|Singaporean cuisine}}

File:Satay stalls along Boon Tat Street next to Telok Ayer Market, Singapore - 20120629-02.jpg hawker centre in the financial district. Satay cart-stalls roll in after dusk, on a side street.]]

Singapore's diversity of cuisine is touted as a reason to visit the country, due to its combination of convenience, variety, quality, and price.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p5Mw_WTLhiYC&dq=singapore*+cuisine&pg=PA161 |title=Changing Chinese foodways in Asia |last1=Wu |first1=David Y.H. |author2=Chee Beng Tan |pages=161 ff |publisher=Chinese University Press |location=Hong Kong |isbn=978-962-201-914-0 |year=2001|access-date=27 February 2011}} Local food items generally relate to a particular ethnicity – Chinese, Malay and Indian; but the diversity of cuisine has increased further by the hybridisation of different styles (e.g., the Peranakan cuisine, a mix of Chinese and Malay cuisine). In hawker centres, cultural diffusion is exemplified by traditionally Malay hawker stalls also selling Tamil food. Hainanese chicken rice, based on the Hainanese dish Wenchang chicken, is considered Singapore's national dish.{{cite web |last=Farley |first=David |title=The Dish Worth the 15-Hour Flight |date=25 February 2022 |url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20151105-the-singapore-dish-worth-a-15-hour-flight |publisher=BBC News}}{{cite web |last=Ling |first=Catherine |title=40 Singapore foods we can't live without |url=http://travel.cnn.com/singapore/none/40-singapore-foods-we-cant-live-without-810208/ |publisher=CNN|access-date=13 January 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119235745/http://travel.cnn.com/singapore/none/40-singapore-foods-we-cant-live-without-810208/|archive-date=19 November 2012}}

The city-state has a burgeoning food scene ranging from hawker centres (open-air), food courts (air-conditioned), coffee shops (open-air with up to a dozen hawker stalls), cafes, fast food, simple kitchens, casual, celebrity and high-end restaurants. Cloud kitchens and food delivery are also on the rise, with 70% of residents ordering from delivery apps at least once a month.{{cite news |last1=Woo |first1=Jacqueline |title=Food fight! The battle for the food delivery market |url=https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/brunch/food-fight-the-battle-for-the-food-delivery-market |work=The Business Times |date=8 September 2018}}{{cite news |title=70% of Singapore consumers order from food delivery apps at least once a month – and most are spending more money in recent years |url=https://www.businessinsider.sg/70-of-singapore-consumers-order-from-food-delivery-apps-at-least-once-a-month-and-most-are-spending-more-money-in-recent-years/ |work=Business Insider Singapore |date=21 March 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923055606/https://www.businessinsider.sg/70-of-singapore-consumers-order-from-food-delivery-apps-at-least-once-a-month-and-most-are-spending-more-money-in-recent-years/|archive-date=23 September 2019}} Many international celebrity chef restaurants are located within the integrated resorts.{{cite news |title=The top celebrity chef restaurants to visit in Singapore |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/celebrity-chefs-opening-restaurants-in-singapore-three-more-to-look-out-for |newspaper=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=23 June 2015}} Religious dietary strictures exist (Muslims do not eat pork and Hindus do not eat beef), and there is also a significant group of vegetarians. The Singapore Food Festival which celebrates Singapore's cuisine is held annually in July.{{cite web |url=https://www.visitsingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/annual-highlights/singapore-food-festival/ |title=Singapore Food Festival |publisher=Singapore Tourism Board|access-date=4 February 2020}}

Prior to the 1980s, street food was sold mainly by immigrants from China, India, and Malaysia to other immigrants seeking a familiar taste. In Singapore, street food has long been associated with hawker centres with communal seating areas. Typically, these centres have a few dozen to hundreds of food stalls, with each specialising in one or more related dishes.{{cite news |last=Fieldmar |first=James |title=Singapore's Street Food 101 |url=http://www.fodors.com/news/street-food-in-singapore-6276.html|access-date=21 October 2013 |newspaper=Fodor's |date=19 December 2012|archive-date=22 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022001718/http://www.fodors.com/news/street-food-in-singapore-6276.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |last=Michaels |first=Rowena |title=Singapore's best street food ... just don't order frog porridge |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/10204790/Singapores-best-street-food-...-just-dont-order-frog-porridge.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/10204790/Singapores-best-street-food-...-just-dont-order-frog-porridge.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=21 October 2013 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=20 July 2013}}{{cbignore}} While street food can be found in many countries, the variety and reach of centralised hawker centres that serve heritage street food in Singapore is unique.{{cite book |last1=Kong |first1=Lily |title=Singapore Hawker Centres : People, Places, Food |date=2007 |publisher=SNP |location=Singapore |isbn=978-981-248-149-8}} In 2018, there were 114 hawker centres spread across the city centre and heartland housing estates. They are maintained by the National Environment Agency, which also grades each food stall for hygiene. The largest hawker centre is located on the second floor of Chinatown Complex, and contains over 200 stalls. The complex is also home to the cheapest Michelin-starred meal in the world – a plate of soya-sauce chicken rice or noodles for S$2 (US$1.50). Two street food stalls in the city are the first in the world to be awarded a Michelin star, obtaining a single star each.{{cite news |last=Han |first=Kirsten |title=Michelin star for Singapore noodle stall where lunch is half the price of a Big Mac |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/04/michelin-star-for-singapore-noodle-stall-where-lunch-is-half-the-price-of-a-big-mac |work=The Guardian |date=4 August 2016 |location=London}}

{{Main|Sport in Singapore}}

File:Joseph Schooling Kazan 2015.jpg is a gold medalist and Olympic record holder at the Rio 2016 Games – 100 m butterfly.]]

The development of private sports and recreation clubs began in the 19th century colonial Singapore, with clubs founded during this time including the Cricket Club, the Singapore Recreation Club, the Singapore Swimming Club, and the Hollandse Club.{{Cite web |url=https://www.sportsingapore.gov.sg/sports-education/history-of-singapore-sports |title=History of Singapore Sports |website=Sport Singapore|access-date=6 July 2018|archive-date=6 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706161703/https://www.sportsingapore.gov.sg/sports-education/history-of-singapore-sports|url-status=dead}} Weightlifter Tan Howe Liang was Singapore's first Olympic medalist, winning a silver at the 1960 Rome Games.{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_635_2005-01-10.html |title=Tan Howe Liang |publisher=National Library Board|access-date=28 August 2019}} Singapore hosted the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, in which 3,600 athletes from 204 nations competed in 26 sports.{{cite press release |url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/media_centre/press_release_uk.asp?release=2492 |publisher=International Olympic Committee|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311003132/http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/media_centre/press_release_uk.asp?release=2492|archive-date=11 March 2009 |date=21 February 2008 |title=Singapore to host first edition of the Youth Olympic Games in 2010|access-date=16 March 2011}}

Indoor and water sports are some of the most popular sports in Singapore. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Joseph Schooling won Singapore's first Olympic gold medal, claiming the 100-metre butterfly in a new Olympic record time of 50.39 seconds.{{cite news |title=Michael Phelps taught a lesson for once – by Joseph Schooling {{!}} Andy Bull|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/13/michael-phelps-taught-a-lesson-for-once-by-singapores-joseph-schooling|access-date=17 August 2018|work=The Guardian|date=13 August 2016|ref=London}} Singapore sailors have had success on the international stage, with their Optimist team being considered among the best in the world.{{cite web |url=https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/sailing-spore-retain-world-team-title |title=Sailing: S'pore retain world team title|work=AsiaOne |access-date=28 August 2019 |date=24 July 2013}}{{cite web |url=https://tnp.straitstimes.com/sports/team-singapore/singapore-sailing-needs-trailblazer |title=Singapore sailing needs a trailblazer|work=The New Paper |access-date=28 August 2019 |date=8 May 2017}} Despite its size, the country has dominated swim meets in the Southeast Asia Games. Its men's water polo team won the SEA Games gold medal for the 27th time in 2017, continuing Singapore sport's longest winning streak.{{cite news |last=Chia |first=Nicole |title=SEA Games: Singapore capture men's 27th water polo gold to keep country's longest sports winning streak alive |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/sea-games-singapore-win-mens-27th-water-polo-gold-to-keep-countrys-longest-sporting-streak|access-date=17 August 2018 |work=The Straits Times |date=20 August 2017}} At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Max Maeder won Singapore's first Olympic medal in sailing, achieving bronze at the Men's Formula Kite on National Day. At 17, he was also Singapore's youngest Olympic medalist.{{cite web |last1=Mohan |first1=Matthew |title=Kitefoiler Max Maeder clinches Olympic bronze, makes history as Singapore's youngest Games medallist |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/max-maeder-olympic-medal-bronze-kitefoiling-paris-games-4537696 |website=CNA |access-date=14 August 2024 |language=en |date=9 August 2024}}

Singapore's women's table tennis team were silver medalists at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.{{cite news |author=ir |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/368387/1/.html |title=Olympics: First medal in 48 years for Singapore |publisher=Channel NewsAsia|access-date=15 August 2008|archive-date=22 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122051939/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/368387/1/.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/table-tennis-end-of-era-for-singapore-women-paddlers |title=Table tennis: End of era for Singapore women paddlers |newspaper=The Straits Times|access-date=28 August 2019 |date=5 March 2016 |last1=Chua |first1=Siang Yee}} They became world champions in 2010 when they beat China at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Russia, breaking China's 19-year winning streak.{{citation |title=World champs!: S'pore beat favourites China in World Team Table Tennis C'ships |url=http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC100531-0000074/World-champs!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601183945/http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC100531-0000074/World-champs!|archive-date=1 June 2010 |newspaper=Today |date=31 May 2010 |page=1|url-status=dead}} In 2021, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew achieved a "World Champion" status when he won a badminton gold at the 2021 BWF World Championships men's singles, which is one of the most prestigious badminton tournaments alongside the Summer Olympics badminton tournaments.{{cite news |title=Singapore's Loh Kean Yew is badminton world champion |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/badminton-singapores-loh-kean-yew-is-world-champion |newspaper=The Straits Times |access-date=3 May 2022}}

Singapore's football league, the Singapore Premier League, was launched in 1996 as the S.League and comprises eight clubs, including one foreign team.{{cite web |url=http://www.sleague.com/competitions/s-league/overview |title=S.League.com – Overview |publisher=S.League |year=2016|access-date=5 January 2016|archive-date=22 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822234311/http://www.sleague.com/competitions/s-league/overview|url-status=usurped}}[http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/football-goodbye-s-league-welcome-singapore-premier-league Football: Goodbye S-League, welcome Singapore Premier League] The Straits Times, 21 March 2018 The Singapore Slingers is one of the inaugural teams in the ASEAN Basketball League, which was founded in October 2009.{{cite news |url=http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/arti.asp?newsid=29263|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816082403/http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/arti.asp?newsid=29263|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 August 2009 |title=ASEAN Basketball League takes off |date=20 January 2009 |work=FIBA Asia}} Kranji Racecourse is run by the Singapore Turf Club and hosts several meetings per week, including international races—notably the Singapore Airlines International Cup.{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/INFOPEDIA/articles/SIP_136_2004-12-30.html |title=Singapore Turf Club |publisher=National Library Board|access-date=28 August 2019}}

Singapore began hosting a round of the Formula One World Championship, the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in 2008. It was the inaugural F1 night race,{{cite press release |title=Singapore confirms 2008 night race |publisher=Formula One |url=http://www.formula1.com/news/6063.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613015932/http://www.formula1.com/news/6063.html |date=11 May 2007|archive-date=13 June 2007|access-date=18 May 2007}} and the first F1 street race in Asia.{{cite press release |title=SingTel to sponsor first Singapore Grand Prix |publisher=Formula One |url=http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2007/11/7101.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118105330/http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2007/11/7101.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 November 2007|access-date=10 December 2007 |date=16 November 2007}} It is considered a signature event on the F1 calendar.{{cite news |last1=Oi |first1=Mariko |title=The Big Read: To keep roaring for S'pore, F1 needs to raise its game |url=https://www.todayonline.com/sports/big-read-keep-roaring-spore-f1-needs-raise-its-game |work=TODAYonline |date=23 April 2013 |location=Singapore}} ONE Championship was founded in Singapore, a major Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion in Asia.{{Cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2013-03-11-sns-rt-mixed-martial-artsonefc-pixl3n0c308o-20130310-story.html |title=Mixed martial arts-ONE FC returning to Manila in May |website=chicagotribune.com}}

{{Main|Media of Singapore}}

{{See also|Telecommunications in Singapore}}

File:Singapore Former-Hill-Street-Police-Station-02.jpg oversees the development of infocomm, media and the arts.]]

Companies linked to the government control much of the domestic media in Singapore.{{cite web |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&country=7915&year=2010 |title=Country Report 2010 Edition |publisher=Freedom House |year=2010|access-date=7 May 2011|archive-date=15 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215114121/http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2010&country=7915|url-status=dead}} MediaCorp operates most free-to-air television channels and free-to-air radio stations in Singapore. There are a total of six free-to-air TV channels offered by MediaCorp.{{Cite web |title=TV Guide |url=https://www.mewatch.sg/channel-guide|access-date=4 February 2022 |website=meWATCH}} StarHub TV and Singtel TV also offer IPTV with channels from all around the world.{{cite web |url=http://www.mda.gov.sg/POLICIES/POLICIESANDCONTENTGUIDELINES/TV/Pages/CableTV.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714155808/http://www.mda.gov.sg/Policies/PoliciesandContentGuidelines/TV/Pages/CableTV.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 July 2010 |title=Cable Television |year=2011 |publisher=XIN MSN|access-date=17 October 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mda.gov.sg/POLICIES/POLICIESANDCONTENTGUIDELINES/TV/Pages/IPTV.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714144133/http://www.mda.gov.sg/Policies/PoliciesandContentGuidelines/TV/Pages/IPTV.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 July 2010 |title=Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) |year=2011 |publisher=XIN MSN|access-date=17 October 2011}} SPH Media Trust, a body with close links to the government, controls most of the newspaper industry in Singapore.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1143240.stm |title=Singapore country profile |publisher=BBC News |date=16 November 2010|access-date=27 February 2011}}

Singapore's media industry has sometimes been criticised for being overly regulated and lacking in freedom by human rights groups such as Freedom House. Self-censorship among journalists is said to be common. In 2023, Singapore was ranked 129 on the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, up from 139 the previous year.{{cite web |title=2023 World Press Freedom Index for Singapore |url=https://rsf.org/en/country/singapore |website=RSF |date=16 June 2023 |access-date=4 October 2023}} The Media Development Authority regulates Singaporean media, claiming to balance the demand for choice and protection against offensive and harmful material.{{cite web |url=http://www.mica.gov.sg/mica_business/b_media.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060910233826/http://www.mica.gov.sg/mica_business/b_media.html|archive-date=10 September 2006 |title=Media: Overview |date=16 March 2005 |publisher=Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts|access-date=27 February 2011}} Private ownership of TV satellite dishes is banned.

Internet in Singapore is provided by state-owned Singtel, partially state-owned Starhub and M1 Limited as well as some other business internet service providers (ISPs) that offer residential service plans of speeds up to 2 Gbit/s as of spring 2015.{{cite web |title=ViewQwest 2Gbps FAQ |url=http://www.viewqwest.com/vqlp/2gbps-faq/|access-date=2 November 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021051852/http://www.viewqwest.com/vqlp/2gbps-faq/|archive-date=21 October 2015}} Equinix (332 participants) and the Singapore Internet Exchange (70 participants) are Internet exchange points where Internet service providers and Content delivery networks exchange Internet traffic between their networks (autonomous systems) in various locations in Singapore.{{cite web |title=Equinix further expands SG2 IBX data center in Singapore |url=https://www.networksasia.net/article/equinix-further-expands-sg2-ibx-data-center-singapore.1499915580 |website=Networks Asia|access-date=4 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704123248/https://www.networksasia.net/article/equinix-further-expands-sg2-ibx-data-center-singapore.1499915580|archive-date=4 July 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Singapore Internet Exchange |url=https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/infrastructure/next-gen-national-infocomm-infrastructure/singapore-internet-exchange |publisher=Info-communications Media Development Authority|access-date=4 July 2018|archive-date=27 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227035254/https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/infrastructure/next-gen-national-infocomm-infrastructure/singapore-internet-exchange|url-status=dead}} In the mid-1980s to 1990s, Singaporeans could also use the locally based videotext service Singapore Teleview to communicate with one another. The phrase Intelligent Island arose in the 1990s in reference to the island nation's early adaptive relationship with the internet.{{cite magazine |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/1993/04/sandfort/ |title=The Intelligent Island |first=Sandy |last=Sandfort |date=April 1993}}{{cite magazine |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/1993/04/gibson-2/ |title=Disneyland with the Death Penalty |first=William |last=Gibson |date=April 1993}}

In 2016, there were an estimated 4.7 million internet users in Singapore, representing 82.5% of the population.{{cite web |title=Internet Users by Country (July 2016 estimate) |url=http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users-by-country/ |website=Internet Live States|access-date=23 November 2016 |date=July 2016 |quote=Elaboration of data by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Population Division, Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), World Bank.}} The Singapore government does not engage in widespread censoring of the internet,{{cite web |url=http://opennet.net/research/profiles/singapore |title=Singapore |publisher=OpenNet Initiative|access-date=7 May 2011}} but it maintains a list of one hundred websites—mostly pornographic—that it blocks from home internet access as a "symbolic statement of the Singaporean community's stand on harmful and undesirable content on the Internet".{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_622871.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119042223/http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_622871.html|archive-date=19 January 2011 |title=Impossible for S'pore to block all undesirable sites |last=Wong |first=Tessa |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |publisher=Singapore Press Holdings |date=11 January 2011|access-date=17 August 2011}}{{cite news |url=http://www.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20080523-66562.html |title=MDA bans two video-sharing porn sites |date=23 May 2008 |author=Chua Hian Hou |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080524215638/http://www.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20080523-66562.html |archive-date=24 May 2008}} Singapore has the world's highest smartphone penetration rates, in surveys by Deloitte{{cite news |url=http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/smartphone-penetration-singapore-highest-globally-survey |title=Smartphone penetration in Singapore the highest globally: Survey |date=11 February 2015 |work=Today |location=Singapore}}{{cite press release |url=http://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/media-releases/articles/our-mobile-world-always-on-FOMO-or-necessity-251114.html |title=Deloitte Mobile Consumer 2014 |date=25 November 2014 |publisher=Deloitte Australia |access-date=13 January 2016 |archive-date=5 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805143008/https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/media-releases/articles/our-mobile-world-always-on-FOMO-or-necessity-251114.html |url-status=dead}} and the Google Consumer Barometer—at 89% and 85% of the population respectively in 2014.{{cite news |url=http://digital.asiaone.com/digital/news/6-top-things-singaporeans-do-when-using-their-smartphones |title=6 top things that Singaporeans do when using their smartphones |date=6 November 2014 |work=Asiaone |access-date=13 January 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160126050015/http://digital.asiaone.com/digital/news/6-top-things-singaporeans-do-when-using-their-smartphones |archive-date=26 January 2016 |url-status=dead}} The overall mobile phone penetration rate is at 148 mobile phone subscribers per 100 people.{{cite web |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#19 |title=Statistics Singapore – Latest Data – Social Indicators |publisher=Singapore Department of Statistics |year=2014 |access-date=26 April 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151129094649/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#19 |archive-date=29 November 2015 |url-status=dead}}

{{portal|Singapore|Cities|Islands|Asia}}

• Index of Singapore-related articles
• Foreign relations of Singapore
• Outline of Singapore

{{clear right}}

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

Attribution

{{refbegin}}

• This article incorporates public domain text from the websites of the [http://www.singstat.gov.sg/ Singapore Department of Statistics], the United States Department of State, the United States Library of Congress and The World Factbook.

{{refend}}

• {{Cite book |last=Bose |first=Romen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Q2JAAAAQBAJ |title=The End of the War: Singapore's Liberation and the Aftermath of the Second World War |date=2010 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-981-261-066-9 |location=Singapore}}
• {{Cite book |last=Legg |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Legg |title=The Gordon Bennett Story: From Gallipoli to Singapore |publisher=Angus & Robertson |year=1965 |location=Sydney, New South Wales |oclc=3193299}}
• {{Cite book |last=Miksic |first=John N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8NJ3BgAAQBAJ |title=Singapore & the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800 |date=2013 |publisher=NUS Press |isbn=978-9971-69-558-3 |location=Singapore}}
• {{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Colin |url=https://archive.org/details/singaporeburning0000coli |title=Singapore Burning: Heroism and Surrender in World War II |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-14-101036-6 |series=Penguin military history |location=London |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book |last=Toland |first=John |author-link=John Toland (historian) |url=https://archive.org/details/risingsundecli00tola |title=The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 |publisher=Random House |year=1970 |location=New York, NY |lccn=77-117669 |ol=25646706M}}
• {{Cite book |last=Wigmore |first=Lionel |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070203 |title=The Japanese Thrust |publisher=Australian War Memorial |year=1957 |location=Canberra}}

{{Library resources box|onlinebooks=yes|by=yes}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}

• {{Cite book |last=Abshire |first=Jean E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SITDEAAAQBAJ |title=The History of Singapore |date=2011 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-37742-6 |series=The Greenwood histories of the modern nations |location=Santa Barbara, Calif |oclc=669750075}}
• {{Cite book |last=Barr |first=Michael D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SxKEDwAAQBAJ |title=Singapore: A Modern History |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-350-13387-7 |location=London; New York |oclc=on1097575328}}
• {{Cite book |last=Corfield |first=Justin J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhBMmG9yXgYC |title=Historical Dictionary of Singapore |date=2011 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7184-7 |edition=New |series=Historical dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East |location=Lanham (Md.)}}
• {{Cite book |last=Ghesquiere |first=Henri |title=Singapore's Success: Engineering Economic Growth |date=2007 |publisher=Thomson Corporation |isbn=978-981-4195-28-7 |location=Singapore}}
• {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWxtDQAAQBAJ |title=50 Years Of Urban Planning In Singapore |date=2015 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-981-4656-45-0 |editor-last=Heng |editor-first=Chye Kiang |location=Singapore}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-7AOHscNewC |title=The Politics of Nation Building and Citizenship in Singapore |last2=Lian |first2=Kwen Fee |publisher=Routledge |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-415-12025-8 |edition=Repr |series=Politics in Asia series |location=London |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book |last=Huff |first=W. G. |url=https://archive.org/details/economicgrowthof0000huff |title=The Economic Growth of Singapore: Trade and Development in the Twentieth Century |date=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-37037-0 |location=Cambridge |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book |last=King |first=Rodney |title=The Singapore Miracle, Myth and Reality |publisher=Insight Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-9775567-0-0 |edition=2. |location=Inglewood, WA |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book |last=Leifer |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wiC6pkgWToIC |title=Singapore's Foreign Policy: Coping with Vulnerability |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-23353-8 |series=Politics in Asia |location=London}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Mauzy |first1=Diane K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6zrYd4-ExqAC |title=Singapore Politics Under the People's Action Party |last2=Milne |first2=R. S. |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-415-24653-8 |series=Politics in Asia |location=New York |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AXxpDQAAQBAJ |title=Singapore and Asia in a Globalized World: Contemporary Economic Issues and Policies |date=2009 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-981-281-557-6 |editor-last=Chia |editor-first=Wai Mun |location=Singapore; Hackensack, N.J |editor-last2=Sng |editor-first2=Hui Ying}}
• {{Cite book |last=Perry |first=John Curtis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnuuDQAAQBAJ |title=Singapore: Unlikely Power |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-046950-4 |location=New York, NY}}
• {{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Bilveer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFBBEAAAQBAJ |title=Understanding Singapore Politics |date=2022 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-981-12-4340-0 |edition=Second |location=Singapore}}
• {{Cite book |last=Tan |first=Kenneth Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNnbx98ixNkC |title=Renaissance Singapore? Economy, Culture, and Politics |publisher=NUS Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-9971-69-377-0 |editor-last=Tan |editor-first=Kenneth Paul |location=Singapore |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book |last=Worthington |first=Ross |title=Governance in Singapore |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7007-1474-2 |location=London |ref=none}}
• {{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Kuan Yew |url=https://archive.org/details/lee-kuan-yew-from-third-world-to-first |title=From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, 1965-2000 |date=2000 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-019776-6 |location=New York}}

{{Refend}}

{{Sister project links|Singapore|voy=Singapore|d=Q334}}

• {{Wikiatlas|Singapore}}
• {{Official website|https://www.gov.sg/}} Singapore Government Portal
• {{OSM relation|536780}}
• [https://www.singstat.gov.sg/ Singapore Department of Statistics]
• {{cite web |title=Key Facts & Figures |website=Ministry of Transport, Singapore |url=https://www.mot.gov.sg/|access-date=11 January 2003}}
• [https://www.mfa.gov.sg/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs], Government of Singapore
• [https://www.wikimapia.org/#y=1345015&x=103819427&z=11&l=0&m=a WikiSatellite view of Singapore at WikiMapia]
• [https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/about-us "About Us"] from Singapore's National Library Board; numerous well-researched and well-documented essays on key events and important figures, as well as topics regarding culture, architecture, nature, etc.
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15961759 Singapore profile] from the BBC News

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