Singapore National Profile
[Country Name] Republic of Singapore.
[Area] 735.2 square kilometers (2023).
[Population] The total population is about 5.92 million (2023), with 4.07 million citizens and permanent residents. Chinese account for about 74%, and the rest are Malays, Indians and other races. Malay is the national language, English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil are official languages, and English is the administrative language. The main religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism.
[Capital] Singapore.
[Head of State] President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who will take office on September 14, 2023, for a term of 6 years.
[Important Festivals] Chinese New Year: Same as Chinese Spring Festival. Tamil New Year: Between April and May. Vesak Day: The full moon day in May. National Day: August 9. Eid al-Fitr: When the new moon appears in the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Christmas: December 25. Singapore has a total of 11 statutory public holidays, in addition to the above, there are New Year’s Day, Easter, Hari Raya Haji, Labor Day, etc.
[Brief Introduction] Tropical city-state. Located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and the entrance and exit of the Strait of Malacca, it is adjacent to Malaysia across the Johor Strait to the north and faces Indonesia across the Singapore Strait to the south. It consists of Singapore Island and 63 nearby small islands, of which Singapore Island accounts for 88.5% of the country’s area. The terrain is low, with an average altitude of 15 meters, the highest altitude of 163 meters, and a coastline of 193 kilometers. It has a tropical marine climate, with high temperature, humidity and rain all year round. The average annual temperature is 24℃~32℃, the average daily temperature is 26.8℃, the average annual precipitation is 2345 mm, and the average annual humidity is 84.3%.
It was called Temasek in ancient times. It belonged to the Srivijaya Dynasty in the 8th century. It was part of the Malay Johor Kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1819, Britisher Stamford Raffles arrived in Singapore and signed a contract with the Sultan of Johor to start setting up a trading post in Singapore. In 1824, Singapore became a British colony and became a British entrepot trade port in the Far East and a major military base in Southeast Asia. It was occupied by Japan in 1942. After Japan surrendered in 1945, Britain resumed colonial rule and designated it as a direct colony the following year. In 1959, it achieved autonomy and became an autonomous state. Britain retained the power of national defense, diplomacy, constitutional amendment, and declaration of emergency. In September 1963, it formed the Federation of Malaysia with Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak. On August 9, 1965, it separated from Malaysia and established the Republic of Singapore; in September of the same year, it became a member of the United Nations and joined the Commonwealth in October.
[Politics] Since independence, the People’s Action Party has been in power for a long time, with outstanding political achievements and a stable position. It has won an overwhelming advantage in every general election. Lee Kuan Yew has served as prime minister for a long time since Singapore’s independence in 1965, and handed over the baton to Goh Chok Tong in 1990. In 1993, the first presidential general election after independence was held. Former Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary-General of the Singapore Trade Union Congress Ong Teng Chang was elected as the first democratically elected president. In August 2004, Lee Hsien Loong succeeded Goh Chok Tong as Prime Minister and was re-elected four times in May 2006, May 2011, September 2015 and July 2020. In March 2015, Lee Kuan Yew passed away. In May 2024, Lawrence Wong became the fourth Prime Minister of Singapore. Lee Hsien Loong stepped down as Prime Minister and became the Senior Minister of State.
[Constitution] In September 1963, after Singapore was incorporated into Malaysia, the state constitution was promulgated. In December 1965, the state constitution was amended to become the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, and it was stipulated that some provisions of the Malaysian Constitution apply to Singapore.
The Constitution stipulates: a parliamentary republic is implemented. The president is the head of state. In 1992, the Parliament enacted the Elected President Act, which stipulated that from 1993, the president would be elected by the people instead of being elected by the parliament, and the term of office would be changed from 4 years to 6 years. The president appoints the leader of the majority party in the parliament as the prime minister; the president and the parliament jointly exercise legislative power. The president has the right to veto the government’s fiscal budget and appointments to public sector positions; he can review the government’s implementation of the Internal Security Act and the Religious Harmony Act; and he has the right to investigate corruption cases. When exercising his powers such as the appointment of major civil servants, the president must first seek the opinions of the Presidential Advisory Council. In February 2017, the Singapore Parliament passed the Presidential Election Amendment Act to amend the elected presidential system and implement a reserved election mechanism. Under this mechanism, if any of the Chinese, Malays, Indians and other ethnic groups has no representative as president after five presidential terms, the next presidential election will be reserved for candidates from that ethnic group. In September 2017, Halimah, the former Malay Speaker of Parliament, ran for president and was elected as the only qualified candidate, becoming the first elected president under the reserved presidential election system. In September 2023, Shanmugaratnam was elected president.
[Parliament] A unicameral system is implemented with a term of 5 years. Parliament can be dissolved early, and general elections must be held within 3 months after the dissolution of Parliament. Members of Parliament are divided into elected members, non-constituency members and appointed members. Among them, elected members are elected by citizens. Non-constituency members are appointed from the non-elected candidates of the opposition party with the highest vote rate, with a maximum of 12, to ensure that there are representatives of non-ruling parties in Parliament. Appointed members are appointed by the President based on the recommendation of the Special Selection Committee of Parliament for a term of two and a half years to reflect the opinions of independent and non-partisan people. The current Parliament was elected on July 11, 2020, and there are currently 103 members. Among them, there are 92 elected members, including 83 from the People’s Action Party and 9 from the Workers’ Party. There are also 2 non-constituency members and 9 appointed members. The current Speaker of Parliament is Xie Jianping.
[Government] In May 2024, Lawrence Wong will take office as Prime Minister and form a new cabinet. The main cabinet members include Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, etc.
Government website: www.gov.sg.
[Judicial Institutions] There are the Supreme Court and the Attorney General’s Chambers. The Supreme Court is composed of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. In 1994, the provision of appealing to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom was abolished, and the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court was determined to be the final court of appeal. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is recommended by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President. Chief Justice Menon Soon and Attorney General Wong Lucien.
[Political Parties] There are more than 30 registered political parties. The main ones are:
(1) The People’s Action Party: The ruling party. Founded in November 1954 by Lee Kuan Yew and others. It has remained the ruling party since 1959. Lee Kuan Yew served as the party’s secretary-general for a long time, and Goh Chok Tong took over in 1991. In December 2004, Lee Hsien Loong succeeded Goh Chok Tong as the party’s secretary-general. The current party chairman is Heng Swee Keat.
(2) The Worker’s Party: Founded in November 1957. Its influence has expanded in recent years. Since 1981, it has won seats in several general elections. In the 2020 general election, it won 10 seats (one of its members later resigned). The current chairman is Sylvia Lim and the secretary-general is Pritam Singh. Pritam Singh serves as the leader of the opposition in Parliament.
[Important Figures] Tharman Shanmugaratnam: President. Born in February 1957, of Indian descent. Received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a master’s degree in economics from Cambridge University, and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University. He worked in the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Central Bank of Singapore in his early years. He was elected as a member of parliament in October 2001. Since 2002, he has served as Minister of Education, Minister of Finance, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Minister of Manpower, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic and Social Coordination. Since May 2019, he has served as Senior Minister of State and Minister for Social Policy Coordination. In July 2023, he resigned from public office and quit the party, announcing his candidacy for the President of Singapore. In September, he was elected as the ninth President of Singapore.
Lawrence Wong: Prime Minister. Born in December 1972. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a master’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He served as Chief Private Secretary to Singapore President Ong Teng Chang and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He was elected as a Member of Parliament in 2011, and has served as Minister of State for Defense and Ministry of Education, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts and Ministry of Education, Minister of Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister of Communications and Information, Minister of National Development, Minister of National Development and Second Minister of Finance, Minister of Education and Second Minister of Finance, Minister of Finance, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. In May 2024, he became the fourth Prime Minister of Singapore.
【Economy】 Singapore is a foreign trade-driven economy, with electronics, petrochemicals, finance, shipping, and service industries as the main industries. It is highly dependent on China, the United States, Japan, Europe, and surrounding markets, and its total foreign trade volume is three times its GDP. The economy has been growing at a high speed for a long time, with an average annual GDP growth of 9% between 1960 and 1984. It was hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1997, but it was not serious. In 2001, affected by the global economic slowdown, the economy experienced a negative growth of 2%, falling into the worst recession since independence. In order to stimulate economic development, the government proposed to “build a new Singapore”, strive to transform into a knowledge economy, and set up an economic restructuring committee to comprehensively review economic development policies and actively negotiate free trade agreements with major economies in the world. In 2008, affected by the international financial crisis, many industries such as finance, trade, manufacturing, and tourism were hit. The Singapore government took active measures to strengthen financial market supervision, strive to maintain financial market stability, enhance investor confidence and reduce inflation, and launched a new round of economic stimulus policies. In 2010, the economy grew by 14.5%. In 2011, affected by the negative impact of the European debt crisis, economic growth slowed down again. From 2012 to 2016, the economic growth rate was between 1% and 2%. In February 2017, Singapore’s “Future Economy Committee” released its economic development strategy for the next ten years, proposing goals such as an average annual economic growth of 2% to 3%, achieving inclusive development, and building a country full of opportunities. It also formulated seven major development strategies, including deepening international connections, promoting and implementing industrial transformation blueprints, and building interconnected cities. The economic growth rates in 2017, 2018, and 2019 reached 3.5%, 3.2%, and 0.8%, respectively. In 2020, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy declined by 5.8%. In 2021, Singapore’s economy rebounded strongly, with a year-on-year growth of 7.6%. In 2022, the GDP growth rate will be adjusted back to 3.6%. The main economic data for 2023 are as follows:
GDP (2023): 673.3 billion Singapore dollars (about 487.9 billion US dollars).
Per capita GDP (2023): 114,000 Singapore dollars (about 82,000 US dollars).
GDP growth rate (2023): 1.1%.
Total trade in goods (2023): 1206 billion Singapore dollars (about 873.91 billion US dollars).
Total trade in services (2023): 837.3 billion Singapore dollars (about 606.74 billion US dollars)
Currency: Singapore Dollar.
Exchange rate: 1 US dollar ≈ 1.38 Singapore dollars.
[Resources] Natural resources are scarce.
[Industry] Mainly includes manufacturing and construction. Manufacturing products mainly include electronics, chemicals and chemical engineering, biomedicine, precision machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, refining and other products. Singapore is the world’s third largest refining center.
【Agriculture】 Agricultural land accounts for about 1% of the total land area, and the output value accounts for less than 0.1% of the national economy. Most of the grain and vegetables are imported from Malaysia, China, Indonesia and Australia.
【Service Industry】 Including financial services, retail and wholesale trade, hotel tourism, transportation and telecommunications, commercial services, etc., it is the leader of economic growth.
【Tourism】 One of the main sources of foreign exchange. Tourists mainly come from China, ASEAN countries, Australia, India and Japan. The main attractions are: Marina Bay, Sentosa Island, Botanical Gardens, Night Zoo, etc.
【Transportation】 Developed transportation and convenient facilities. It is an important transshipment port in the world and an aviation center connecting Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania.
Railway: Mainly subway, and a light rail railway is built to connect with the subway.
Highway: As of the end of 2018, the total mileage is 3,500 kilometers, and the road network on the island is well connected.
Water transportation: It is the world’s busiest port and one of the main transshipment hubs in Asia. It is the world’s largest fuel supply port and the second largest cargo port. There are more than 200 routes connecting more than 600 ports in the world. In 2023, the Singapore International Port Group handled a total of 94.8 million TEUs, an increase of 4.3% over 2022. Among them, the container terminals in Singapore handled a total of 38.8 million TEUs, 4.8% more than in 2022.
Air transport: mainly Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary SilkAir. Singapore Changi Airport has been rated as the world’s best airport for many years. In 2019, there were 382,000 flights, 68.3 million passengers, and 2 million tons of cargo. Affected by the epidemic, the number of flights in 2020 dropped to 125,000, the passenger volume dropped to 11.8 million, and the cargo volume dropped to 1.54 million tons. In 2021, the number of flights dropped to 109,000, the passenger volume dropped to 3.05 million, and the cargo volume rose to 1.947 million tons. In 2022, a total of 32.2 million passengers were received, equivalent to 47.2% of the pre-pandemic level; 219,000 flights took off and landed, 57.2% of the pre-pandemic level. In 2023, Changi Airport will have about 328,000 flights taking off and landing, completing a passenger throughput of 58.9 million people, and an air cargo throughput of 1.74 million metric tons.
[Foreign Trade] It is an important pillar of the national economy. In 2023, the total foreign trade in goods will be about S$1,206 billion (about US$873.91 billion), of which exports will be about S$638.4 billion (about US$462.61 billion) and imports will be S$567.6 billion (about US$411.30 billion). The main imported commodities are electronic vacuum tubes, crude oil, processed petroleum products, office and data processing machine parts, etc. The main exported commodities are refined oil, electronic components, chemicals and industrial machinery, etc. The main trading partners are: China, Malaysia, and the United States.
【Foreign Investment】 Promote the “regional economic development strategy” and vigorously invest overseas. By the end of 2022, the cumulative foreign direct investment was 1.39 trillion Singapore dollars (about 1 trillion US dollars), mainly concentrated in the financial services and manufacturing industries. The main direct investment destinations are China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
【Foreign Investment】 By the end of 2022, Singapore has attracted a total of 2.62 trillion Singapore dollars (about 1.89 trillion US dollars) in foreign direct investment, mostly concentrated in the financial services and manufacturing industries. The main direct investment sources are the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and China.
【People’s Life】 In 2023, the per capita GDP was 114,000 Singapore dollars (about 82,000 US dollars). The government uniformly built public housing, and the housing ownership rate of residents reached 91%. The average life expectancy is 83.0 years, the literacy rate is 97.5% (over 15 years old), there are 24 doctors per 10,000 people, and there are 110 private cars per 1,000 people.
【Military】 The Singapore Armed Forces was established in 1965. The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The army is subject to compulsory military service, which lasts 2 to 3 years. The Singaporean army is mainly trained abroad. In 1971, it signed a treaty with the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Formed a “Five-Nation Defense” with Malaysia. Attach importance to national defense education. Committed to building a third-generation “smart” army. The defense budget for 2024 is about S$20.2 billion (about US$15 billion).
[Culture] While preserving the traditional culture of each ethnic group, encourage the evolution to a unified national culture of Singapore.
[Education] Singapore’s education system emphasizes bilingualism, physical education, and moral education, and pays equal attention to innovation and independent thinking. The bilingual policy requires students to learn English in addition to their mother tongue. The government promotes “information technology education” to encourage students to master computer knowledge. The vast majority of schools are public, and famous universities include the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, and Singapore University of Technology and Design.
[Press and Publishing] English newspapers include Straits Times, Business Times, and New Paper; Chinese newspapers include Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao, and Shin Min Daily News; Malay newspapers include Daily News; Tamil newspapers include Tamil Daily.
The radio station broadcasts in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil.
The TV network covers the whole country. MediaCorp was formed by the merger of several companies operating television and radio. It mainly operates six channels, including Channel 5, Channel 8 and Asia News Channel, broadcasting Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil programs. There are also Channel U and TVT established by private newspaper holding groups.
[Foreign Relations] Based on ASEAN, it is committed to maintaining ASEAN unity and cooperation and promoting ASEAN to play a greater role in regional affairs; it attaches great importance to developing relations with China, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia; it highlights economic diplomacy and actively promotes trade and investment liberalization. It has signed bilateral free trade agreements with many countries. It has joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), and initiated the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) with New Zealand and Chile. It has initiated the establishment of cross-continental cooperation mechanisms such as the Asia-Europe Meeting and the East Asia-Latin America Forum. Actively promoted the signing of the Regional Intergovernmental Anti-Piracy Cooperation Agreement in Asia (ReCAAP), and the Information Sharing Center established in accordance with the agreement was officially established in New Zealand in November 2006. It has established diplomatic relations with 193 countries.