Country Facts - Singapore

The People

Nationality

Singaporean(s)

Ethnic Composition

Chinese	76.7%
Malay	14%
Indian	7.9%
Other	1.4%

Religious Composition

Buddhist, Taoist, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist.

Languages Spoken

Chinese--Mandarin (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official).

Education and Literacy

Over 93.5 percent of the total adult population can read and write. Literacy is 97 percent for males over the age of 15, and 89.8 percent for females.

Labor Force

Total: 2.19 million (2000)

By occupation:

Financial, business, and other services	35%
Manufacturing	21%
Construction	13%
Transportation and Communication	9%
Other	22%

Geography

Land Mass Total

267 sq mi (692.7 sq km)

Land

246 sq mi (637.5 sq km)

Water

3.8 sq mi

(10 sq km)

Land Boundaries

0 mi (0 km)

Coastline

119 mi (193 km)

Maritime claim

Exclusive fishing zone: Within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties
and practice
Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate/Weather

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

Terrain

Lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water entrapment area and nature preserve

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Singapore Strait 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Bukit Timah 544 ft (166 m)

Natural Resources

Fish, deepwater ports

Land use

Arable land	2%
Permanent crops	0%
Other	98%

(1998)

Natural hazards

N/A

Environment - current issues

Industrial pollution; limited natural freshwater resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia

Geography Note

Focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes

Demographics

Population

4,452,732 (July 2002

)

Age structure

0-14 years:	17.6%	Male: 404,212	Female: 378,660
15-64 years:	75.3%	Male: 1,630,696	Female: 1,724,532
65 years and over:	7.1%	Male: 137,512	Female: 177,120

(2002))

Growth Rate

3.46% (2002)

Life Expectancy

80.29 years (2002)
Female: 83.47 years
Male: 77.34 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$24,700 (2001)

Infant Mortality

3.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2000)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.08 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.78 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.95 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

26.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Singapore, a highly developed and successful free-market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing, and was hard hit in 2001 by the global recession and the slump in the technology sector. In 2001, GDP contracted by 2.2 percent. The economy did recover in 2002 in response to improvements in the U.S. economy, and GDP growth for 2002 came in at 2.2 percent. In the longer term the government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle than the current export-led model, but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. The SARS crisis of 2003 hit Singapore hard even though it managed to gets its own population under control quite quickly. The downturn in tourism, already hurting from post-9/11 fears, dropped further with SARS. Regional shipping also tailed off as Chinese manufacturers had orders put on hold until the causes of the respiratory disease could be determined. Through all of this, the ever-resilient Singapore is still expected to post a 3 percent GDP growth in 2003 and 3.5 percent in 2004.

Unemployment

4.7% (2001)

Inflation Rate

1.5% (2001)

Industries

Electronics, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, entrep ôt trade, biotechnology

Exports

US$122 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$116 billion (2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$106.3 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Malaysia 18%, US 17%, Hong Kong 8%, Japan 7.5%, Taiwan 6%, Thailand 4.3%, China 4%, South Korea 3.6%, Germany 3%, Netherlands 3% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Japan 17%, Malaysia 17%, US 15%, China 5%, Taiwan 4.4%, Thailand 4.3%, South Korea 3.6%, Saudi Arabia 3% (2000)

Top Exports

Machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs

Debt - external

US$8.3 billion (2001)

Economic aid

N/A

Fiscal Year:

April 1 to March 31

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	9a.m. to 5p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to 1p.m.
Retail	9a.m. to 9p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to 9p.m. Some also open on Sunday.
Banks	10a.m. to 3p.m.	Saturday 9:30a.m. to 11:30a.m.
Government	9a.m. to 5p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to 1p.m. (selected offices)

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Chinese New Year¹	February 1 to 3	January 22 to 24	February 9
Festival of Sacrifice (Hari Raya Haji)²	February 12	February 2	January 21
Good Friday³	April 18	April 9	March 25
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Vesak Day (Buddha Purnima)*¹	May 1	May 19	May 8
Independence Day	August 9	August 9	August 9
Deepavali*²	October 25	November	November
Start of Ramadan*³	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan (Hari Raya Puasa)**¹	November 26	November 14	November 3
Christmas Day**²	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Celebrations denoting the beginning of the New Year based on the exact astronomical observations of the longitude of the sun and phases of the moon according the the Chinese calendar. Holidays can last up to five days.
²	Culmination of the Hajj or Holy Pilgrimage.
³	A Christian observance marking the anniversary of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Takes place the Friday before Easter Sunday.
*¹	Buddhist celebration commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and entry into Nirvana of Gautama Buddha. Dates are determined by the first full moon in May.
*²	Diwali, (Divali, or Deepavali), the Festival of Lights. Brought to Guyana by indentured servants from India, in 1853, Diwali is the celebration of light versus dark. Participants rejoice over the fabled the rescue of Lakshmi, Goddess of Light, from the demon, King Bali; and the return of Lord Rama from exile. Diwali is celebrated on the darkest night of the month of Kartic according to the Hindu calendar, falling somewhere in October or November.
*³	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
**¹	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.
**²	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press