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Singapore |
Singapore
consists of a main island surrounded by over 50 islets. This island-nation
has a rich ethnic, cultural and historical heritage,
which is reflected in Singapore City’s Chinatown, Kampong
Glam and Little India. This Garden City has an
abundance of tropical greenery and parklands including the Botanic
Gardens, which are spread over 52 hectares. Wildlife
is as plentiful as the plants and trees in the open-concept zoo
– the Singapore Zoological Gardens as well
as the Jurong Bird Park with over 8000 birds.
Apart
from the natural wonders of this country, the colonial charm of
Raffles Hotel, the Parliament House, Victoria Theatre,
Singapore Cricket Club, Supreme Court and City Hall are splendid.
A fantastic getaway is the Sentosa Island resort with
beautiful sandy beaches, nature trails, a Dolphin Lagoon, historical
sites and museums. The first immigrants of Singapore
saw it change into a great seaport from a little fishing village
on the Singapore River.
| Joined
Commonwealth |
1965 |
| Capital |
Singapore |
| Population |
4,300,419
(July 2001) |
| Age
structure (15-64 years) |
75.16%
(male: 1,575,381; female: 1,656,838) |
| Youth
Population (15-24) |
441,201
(2000) |
| Youth
Population (15-24) in % |
12.3%
(2000) |
| HIV/AIDS
(adult prevalence rate) |
0.19%
(1999) |
| HIV/AIDS
(people living with HIV/AIDS) |
4,000
(1999) |
| HIV/AIDS
deaths |
210
(1999) |
| Literacy
(age 15 and over can read and write) |
93.5%
(male: 97%; female: 89.8%) (1999) |
| Total
Unemployment in % |
2.7%
(1995) |
| Youth
Unemployment (15-19) in % |
male:
2.1%; female: 4.2% (1995) |
| Youth
Unemployment (20-14) in % |
male:
12.0%; female: 12.0% (1995) |
| GDP
p.c. growth |
4.7%
p.a. 1990-2000 |
| Currency |
Singapore
dollar (S$) |
| Official
language |
English,
Chinese, (Mandarin), Malay, Tamil |
| Time |
GMT
plus 8hours |
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| CYP
Asia Centre Focus in Singapore |
- Volunteerism
-
Substance abuse
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In
the early 1400s the island of Singapore (or Singapura) was ruled
by Siam. The Malacca Sultanate soon took over
the island and then the Portuguese took Malacca in 1511.
Sir Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant Governor of Bencoolen
established a British trading post in 1819. Soon Britain bought
the island from the existing rulers and in 1869 the
Suez Canal was opened. This increased the amount of shipping at
Singapore. In the early 1920s Britain began constructing
a great naval base in the Johor Straits. From February 1942 until
August 1945 Singapore was occupied by the Japanese
army. Singapore then became a colony with a provisional advisory
council in 1946. In 1959 it became a state with its
own citizenship and complete internal self-government.
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Singapore is a republic with an elective, non-executive
presidency with a head of state, prime minister, a cabinet
and a unicameral parliament. Elections are held every five
years under universal adult suffrage. The president is directly
elected by universal adult suffrage for a six-year term. The president
has the power to veto over appointments to important
public offices and in the use of national reserves.
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