SINGAPORE

The Republic of Singapore is an Asian country at the southern end of the Malay peninsula. About 4.4 million people live in Singapore, and most of them are Chinese. "Singapore" means "Lion city" in Sanskrit. The official languages are English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil.

It was set up as a British trading town in 1819 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, and soon became an important British town in the region. During World War II, Singapore was invaded by the Japanese and renamed Syonan-to. The people suffered during this time. After Japan surrendered in 1945, Singapore was returned to the British. The suffering during World War II made the people realise that the British were not so powerful. They realised that they had to defend Singapore themselves.

Location

Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Geography

Focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes.

Capital

Singapore

Climate

Tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms.

Language

Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, others 0.9%

Monetary Unit

Singapore dollar (SGD)

Largest Cities

Singapore

Principal rivers

Seletar

Places to Visit

Singapore

Airports

Changi Airport, Paya Lebar Airport, Seletar Airport, Sembawang Airport, Tengah Airport