Portal:Singapore

Welcome to the Singapore Portal

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north.

In its early history, Singapore was a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to British control as a Crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and, in 1963, became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers.

As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest PPP-adjusted GDP per capita. It is also identified as a tax haven. Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers. Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world. It has the third highest population density of any country, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the common language, with exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies.

Singapore is a parliamentary republic and its legal system is based on common law. While the country is de jure a multi-party democracy with free elections, the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields widespread control and political dominance. One of the five founding members of ASEAN, Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council Secretariat, and is the host city of many international conferences and events. Singapore is also a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations. (Full article...)

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The flag of Singapore was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It remained the national flag upon the country's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The design is a horizontal bicolour of red above white, overlaid in the canton (upper-left quadrant) by a white crescent moon facing a pentagon of five small white five-pointed stars. The elements of the flag denote a young nation on the ascendant, universal brotherhood and equality, and national ideals.

Vessels at sea do not use the national flag as an ensign. Merchant vessels and pleasure craft fly a civil ensign of red charged in white with a variant of the crescent and stars emblem in the centre. Non-military government vessels such as coast guard ships fly a state ensign of blue with the national flag in the canton, charged with an eight-pointed red and white compass rose in the lower fly. Naval ships patrol a naval ensign similar to the state ensign, but in white with a red compass rose emblem. (Full article...)

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Credit: Sengkang (23 October 2005)

The Jurong BirdPark (Chinese: 裕廊飞禽公园; Malay: Taman Burung Jurong), is a tourist attraction in Singapore managed by Widlife Reserves Singapore. It is a landscaped park, built on the western slope of Jurong Hill. It is located within the Boon Lay Planning Area of the Jurong district and has an area of 202,000 square metres. Read more...

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General images

The following are images from various Singapore-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 2Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 3Traffic in Singapore, 1981. Prior to the introduction of the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) in 1990, vehicles per capita in Singapore was the highest in ASEAN. (from History of Singapore)
Image 4The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 5Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 6Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 7Restored shophouses running along a street in Chinatown, which reflects the Victorian architecture of buildings built in Singapore during the earlier colonial period, with styles such as the painted ladies. (from History of Singapore)
Image 8Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 9Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 10Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 11Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 12St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 13The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 14Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 15The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 16Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 17A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 18The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 191888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 20Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 21Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 22The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 23Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 24Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 25Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 26A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 271955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 28The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 29Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. (from History of Singapore)
Image 30Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 31A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 32The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 33Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 34View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 35The Mao Kun map from Wubei Zhi which is based on the early 15th century maps of Zheng He showing Temasek (淡馬錫) at the top left, and Long Ya Men (龍牙門) on the right panel. (from History of Singapore)
Image 36Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 37The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 38A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 39Chinese community in Singapore carrying the Flag of the Republic of China (written Long live the motherland) to celebrate the victory, also reflected the Chinese identity issues at that time. (from History of Singapore)
Image 40Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 41Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)

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Tao Li (Chinese: 陶李; pinyin: Táo Lǐ; born 10 January 1990) is a Chinese-born Singaporean competitive swimmer who specializes in the backstroke and butterfly.

Tao has represented Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the Asian Games, World Championship, Commonwealth Games and Olympics. She holds several national records and is the only female Singapore swimmer who qualified for an Olympic Final. (Full article...)

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Ho Yuen Hoe Gan Eng Seng Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo Teresa Hsu Fandi Ahmad Denise Phua Li Jiawei Glenn Knight Laurentia Tan Yip Pin Xiu Neila Sathyalingam Walter Woon Han Sai Por Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan Xiaxue

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that an artwork in Singapore's Outram Park MRT station represents the state of mind of commuters through 69 engravings of surreal human forms?
... that COVID-19 lockdown restrictions caused a 37-percent increase in infections of dengue fever in Singapore's 2020 outbreak?
... that Singaporean singer Dawn Gan played herself in a television drama about aspiring singers?
... that Tan Gee Paw was presented with a solid gold medal by Lee Kuan Yew for helping to clean up Singapore's waterways?
... that some people have asked whether they can pay for their Singapore hotel stay using a travel card?
... that S. Iswaran was the first Singaporean cabinet minister to be investigated by the country's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau since 1986?

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In this month

10 March 1964: The MacDonald House bombing is carried out by Indonesian saboteurs, killing three people.
14 March 1967: The National Service bill is passed though the parliament, making it compulsory for all able-bodied Singaporean males above 18 to serve National Service.
15 March 1986: The Hotel New World collapses, killing 33 people.
20 March 1948: Singapore's first election takes place.
26 March 1991: Singapore Airlines Flight 117 is hijacked by four Pakistanis.
23 March 2015: Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew passed away at the age of 91

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... that The Majestic in Singapore was an opera house built by tin and rubber magnate Eu Tong Sen in 1928 for his wife who was a Cantonese opera fan?

...that Central Fire Station, the oldest existing fire station in Singapore, had only four portable water pumps when it was completed in 1908?

... that Singaporean dancer, choreographer and teacher Neila Sathyalingam, who dances in the classical Indian style, decided to devote her life to dance after performing for Queen Elizabeth II?

... that during the Singaporean parliamentary general election of 2011 the opposition Workers' Party won a Group Representation Constituency for the first time?

...that although archaeologists in Singapore have discovered many artifacts, they do not have government support for their work, and there is no centralised place to store the artifacts?

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Credit: Sengkang (December 2005)

The Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM, Chinese: 亚洲文明博物馆) is an institution which forms a part of the three museums of the National Museums of Singapore. It is one of the pioneering museums in the region to specialise in pan-Asian cultures and civilisations.

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Check for latest announcements and updates at the WikiProject Singapore
Make yourself known as a Singaporean Wikipedian
Create or improve on the articles listed in the to do list
Share with us your level of proficiency in Singlish by putting one of the 4 Singlish Babel tags (1 2 3 4) onto your user page
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