|
|
| |
|
(All facts and figures
given are for 2006 unless otherwise stated)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Land and Climate
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total land area: 699.9 sq. km. Of this, about 49.1% is used for residential,
commercial and industrial purposes and another 1.5% for agriculture. The rest
consists of forest reserves, marsh and other non-built-up areas.
|
|
|
|
|
Location : Between
latitude 1o09’N and 1o29’N, longitude
103o36’E, and 104o25’E.
Climate : Singapore is an equatorial
country with relatively
uniform temperature, high humidity and abundant
rainfall.
Average daily temperature
:
25.1 -
31 degree Celsius
Annual
rainfall
: 2,344 mm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
People
|
|
|
|
|
| Total Population |
: 4.48m |
| Resident
Population (citizens and permanent residents) |
: 3.60m |
| Population growth |
: 1.8% |
| Population
density |
: 5,900 per sq.km 999) |
| Population by
race |
:
Chinese (76.8 %); Malays (13.9 %);
Indians (7.9 %);
Others (1.4%) |
| Population by age |
: Below 15
(21.5%); 15-64 (71.2%), 65 and over (7.3%) |
| Official
languages |
: English
(language of administration), Chinese (Mandarin),
Malay (National language) & Tamil |
| Religions |
: Buddhism
(42.5 %), Taoism (8.5 %); Islam (14.9 %);
Christianity (14.6 %); Hinduism (4.0 %); Other religions
(0.6%); No religion (14.8%) [Census of Population 2000] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Education
|
|
|
|
|
| General literacy
rate |
: 95% (2005) |
| Literacy in 2 or
more languages |
: 56% |
| Tertiary
education |
: 3
Universities (National University
of Singapore, Nanyang
Technological University and Singapore Management
University);
4 Polytechnics. Working adults can enroll in the Open
University
Degree Programme offered
by the Singapore Institute of
Management. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tourism
|
|
|
|
|
| No. of visitors |
:
9.7m |
| No. of gazetted hotels |
:
226 |
| No. of gazetted hotel rooms |
:
37000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Government
|
|
|
|
|
|
Singapore is a republic with a parliamentary
system of government based on the West-minister model.
|
|
|
|
|
|
ORGANS OF STATE:
|
|
The Executive
: Head of State and Cabinet
Head of State : President
S R Nathan
Cabinet
: Led by the Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong |
|
|
|
|
|
The President is elected for a fixed term of 6 years.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parliament :
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parliament is elected by general election every 5 years. Upon independence in
1965, the Legislative Assembly, previously elected by general election in 1963,
was renamed Parliament. The First Sitting of Parliament was held on 8 December
1965. The first general election for Parliament was held on 13 April 1968.
There are 23 registered political parties. The People’s Action Party (PAP) has
formed the government since 1959. The current Parliament, elected on 2 January
1997, has 80 PAP Members of Parliament (MPs), 2 Opposition MPs and 1
Non-Constituency Member of Parliament. In addition, there are 9 Nominated MPs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Judiciary: The Supreme Court
and the Subordinate Courts
The Judiciary administers the law independently of the Executive and this
independence is safeguarded by the Constitution.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Employment
|
|
|
|
|
Lab-our
force
: 2.36 m
Employed persons :
2.26 m
Unemployment rate : 3.4%
|
|
|
Central
Provident Fund: A social security
savings scheme in which all
employees and their employers
contribute a percentage of their
salary. Employees below 55 years
contribute 20% while employers
contribute 13%. Employees 55 years
and above contribute at lower rates.
In addition to providing security
for old age, this fund can also be
used for healthcare, home ownership
and asset enhancement.
There are 3.05 million CPF members
and their CPF balance stood at
$119.79 billion (as at December
2005)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leisure
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Median
hours of leisure activities per week |
:
17.2 hrs (1990 Census of
Population) |
| The
most popular leisure activities |
:
watching television, listening to
music, reading and socializing
with friends and relatives. |
| Attendance at cinemas |
: 14.8m (averaging 4
annual
visits per person) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No. of books borrowed from the National
Library : 14.46bin [April to October 2000]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Public sports facilities : 16 stadiums,
2 indoor stadiums, 28 swimming complexes, 54 tennis courts, 29 squash courts, 8
net-ball courts, 13 multi-purpose fields, 13 sports halls, 2 fitness parks and
one practice track.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Households in Singapore
|
|
|
|
|
86% of Singaporeans live in public housing, of which 91% own their own homes.
Mean household size
(persons)
: 4.0
Percentage of wives who contribute to household : 43% [1995 General
Household Survey]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Household Wealth
|
|
|
|
|
|
All households *
(1998 Household Expenditure Survey)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consumer Goods (%)
|
|
|
|
|
| Refrigerator |
: 98.6 |
| Television |
: 98.6 |
| Telephone |
: 96.9 |
| Washing
Machine |
: 90.8 |
| Video/Laser/Compact
Disc Player |
: 56.7 |
| Personal
Computer |
: 47.4 |
| Air
Conditioner |
: 57.7 |
| Private
car/Station wagon |
: 34.9 |
| Microwave
oven |
: 37.7 |
|
|
|
*includes one-person household.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transport and
Communication
|
|
|
|
|
| Port statistics
(annual) |
: Total no. of
ships calling at the port: 141,523
(1999)
|
| Airport
statistics (January to September 2000) |
: Total no. of
aircraft movements: 129,267 |
| Total no. of
passenger movements |
: 21.17m |
| Total no. of
vehicles in Singapore |
: 680,125 (of
which 387,908 are cars and
rented cars) |
| Forms of public
transport: MRT service |
: 48 stations and
85 trains serving 1,068,770
passengers daily |
| LRT service |
: 14 stations
serving 40,015 passengers daily |
| Bus service |
: 2
companies operating 265 routes with a
fleet of 3,489 buses |
| Taxi service |
: 5
groups of operators running a fleet of
18,019 taxis |
| Total no. of
mobile phone users |
: 2,162,600 (2 in
3) |
| Total no. of
pager subscribers |
: 959,353 (1 in
3) |
| Residential
telephone lines |
: 1,917,700 (588
per 1,000 resident population)
[As of September 2000] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mass Media
|
|
|
|
|
| No.
of local newspaper |
:
15 dailies with a combined
circulation of about 1.4 m (as of
September 2000) |
| No.
of foreign publications, journals & magazines |
:
5,500 |
| No.
of local broadcasters |
:
9 |
| No. of radio
channels (domestic) |
: 18 |
|
|
|
Country-wide Network : All homes
are linked with fiber optic cables, which enables households in Singapore to
benefit from a range of information technology (IT) services, including cable
TV with a choice of over 40 channels. It achieves the aim of connecting the
whole of Singapore in one open network, known as Singapore ONE (One Network for
Everyone).
|
|
|
|
|
Cable TV subscribership : 236,000 or
24% of all cabled homes (as at September 2000)
Internet Subscribership : 2.2 million (as
at end August 2000)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arts
|
|
|
|
|
|
The National Arts Council (NAC), the national agency spear-heading the
development of the arts in Singapore, manages Kallang Theater (1,744 seats),
Victoria Theater (908 seats) and the Drama Centre (326 seats). The other major
arts venue is The Esplanade - Theaters on the Bay. When completed in 2002, its
facilities will include a 2,000-seat Theatre, a 1,800-seat Concert hall and
outdoor performance spaces such as public concourse and an amphitheatre. There
are currently 3 fully constituted museums operated by the National Heritage
Board, namely the Singapore History Museum and the Singapore Art Museum which
opened in early 1996, and the Asian Civilizations Museum which opened in early
1997. Besides these, there are also other museums maintained by various private
and para-governmental agencies, such as the Singapore Philatelic Museum, Images
of Singapore in Sentosa, The Battle Box at Fort Canning, and the Lee Kong Chian
Museum at the National University of Singapore.
|
|
|
|
|
