y other country. The World Bank notes Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business. The country has the world's third highest GDP PPP per capita of US$59,936, making Singapore one of the world's wealthiest countries. Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The People's Action Party (PAP) has won every election since the British grant of internal self-government in 1959. The legal system of Singapore has its foundations in the English common law system, but modifications have been made to it over the years, such as the removal of trial by jury. The PAP's popular image is that of a strong, experienced and highly qualified government, backed by a skilled Civil Service and an education system with an emphasis on achievement and meritocracy; but it is perceived by some voters, opposition critics and international observers as being authoritarian and too restrictive on individual freedom. Some 5 million people live in Singapore, of whom 2.91 million were born locally. Most are of Chinese, Malay or Indian descent. There are four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. One of the five founding members of the Association of South East Asian Nations, Singapore also hosts the APEC Secretariat, and is a member of the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth. Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Government and politics 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Foreign relations 7 Military 8 Demographics 8.1 Religion 8.2 Languages 8.3 Education 8.4 Health 9 Culture 9.1 Cuisine 9.2 Arts 9.3 Sport and recreation 9.4 Media 10 Transport 11 See also 12 References 13 External links Etymology Main article: Names of Singapore The English name of Singapore is derived from the Malay word Singapura (Sanskrit: ???????, lit. Lion City), hence the customary reference to the nation as the Lion City. Lions probably never lived there; the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama, who founded and named ancient Singapore, was most likely a tiger.[9][10] History Main article: History of Singapore Victorious Japanese troops marching through Singapore City after British capitulation at the Battle of Singapore The earliest known settlement on Singapore was in the second century AD. It was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire, named Temasek ("sea town"). Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, it was part of the Sultanate of Johor. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burnt down the settlement and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries.[11] In 1819, Thomas Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, arrived and signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. In 1824, the entire island became a British possession under a further treaty whereby the Sultan and the Temenggong transferred it to the British East India Company. In 1826, it became part of the British Straits Settlements, becoming its capital in 1836.[12] Before Raffles arrived, there were around 1,000 people living in Singapore, mostly Malays and a few dozen Chinese.[13] By 1869, due to migration from Malaya and other parts of Asia, Singapore's population had reached 100,000. Many Chinese and Indian immigrants came to Singapore to work in the rubber plantations and tin mines, and their descendents later formed the bulk of Singapore's population.[14] During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The British were defeated, and surrendered on 15 February 1942. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history".[15] The Sook Ching massacre of ethnic Chinese after the fall of Singapore claimed between 5,000 and 25,000 lives.[16] The Japanese occupied Singapore until the British repossessed it in September 1945 after the Japanese surrender.[17] Singapore's first general election in 1955 was won by the pro-independence David Marshall, leader of the Labour Front. Demanding complete self-rule he led a delegation to London but was turned down by the British. He resigned when he returned and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock, whose policies convinced Britain to grant Singapore full internal self-government for all matters except defence and foreign affairs.[18] During the May 1959 elections, the People's Action Party won a landslide victory. Singapore had become an internally self-governing state within the Commonwealth, with Lee Kuan Yew as the first Prime Minister.[19] Governor Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode served as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara, and was succeeded by Yusof bin Ishak who in 1965 became the first President of Singapore.[20] During the 1950s, Singapore started to face a Communist threat which lasted till the early 1970s. The Communists, mostly supported by the Chinese-speaking group, with strong ties to the trade unions and Chinese schools, carried out an armed struggle against the state, resulting in the Malayan Emergency and later, the Communist Insurgency War. The 1954 National Service Riots, Chinese middle schools riots and Hock Lee bus riots in Singapore were all linked to the Communists [21] On 31 August 1963, Singapore declared independence from Britain and joined with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form the new Federation of Malaysia as the result of the 1962 Merger Referendum. Singaporean leaders joined Malaysia for various reasons. Firstly, as a small country, they did not believe that the British would find it viable for Singapore to become independent by itself. Secondly, they also did not believe that Singapore could survive on its own, due to scarcity of land, water, markets and natural resources. And lastly, the Singapore government wanted the help of the Malaysian government to flush out the Communists. The two years that Singapore spent as part of Malaysia were filled with strife and bitter disagreements. The Malaysians insisted on a pro-Malay society, where Malays were given special Bumiputera rights, which still exists to this day. The Malaysians were also suspicious about Singapore's majority of ethnic Chinese and worried that Singapore's economic clout would shift the centre of power from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. There were also linguistic and religious issues. The Singaporeans, on the other hand, wanted an equal and meritocratic society, where all citizens were given equal rights. As part of Malaysia, Singapore's economic and social development came to a halt as the Malaysian parliament blocked many bills. Race riots broke out in Singapore in 1964. After much heated ideological conflicts between the two governments, in 1965, the Malaysian parliament voted 126 to 0 to expel Singapore from Malaysia.[3][22][23] Singapore gained independence as the Republic of Singapore (remaining within the Commonwealth) on 9 August 1965[3] with Yusof bin Ishak as president and Lee Kuan Yew as prime minister. Every one who was present in Singapore on the date of independence was offered Singapore citizenship. In 1967, it helped found the Association of Southeast Asian Nations[24] and in 1970 it joined the Non-aligned movement. In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as prime minister. During his tenure the country faced the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak and terrorist threats posed by Jemaah Islamiyah. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the country's third prime minister.[25] Government and politics Main articles: Government of Singapore, Politics of Singapore, and Human rights in Singapore Singapore's Parliament House. Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government representing constituencies. Its constitution establishes representative democracy as its political system.[7] Freedom House ranks Singapore as "partly free" in its Freedom in the World report,[26] and The Economist ranks Singapore as a "hybrid regime", the third rank out of four, in its "Democracy Index".[27] Singapore is consistently rated one of the least corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International.[28] Executive power rests with the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister, and the President.[20] The president is elected through popular vote, and has some veto powers for a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of judges, but otherwise occupies a ceremonial post.[29] The Parliament serves as the legislative branch of government.[20] Members of Parliament (MPs) consist of elected, non-constituency and nominated members. Elected MPs are voted into parliament on a "first-past-the-post" (plurality) basis and represent either single-member or group-representation constituencies.[30] The People's Action Party has won control of Parliament with large majorities in every election since self-governance was secured in 1959.[26] However, in the most recent parliamentary elections in 2011, the opposition, led by the Workers' Party, made significant gains and increased its representation in the House to 6 elected MPs.[31] The legal system of Singapore is based on English common law, albeit with substantial local differences. Trial by jury was entirely abolished in 1970 leaving judicial assessment performed wholly by judgeship.[32] Singapore has penalties that include judicial corporal punishment in the form of caning for rape, rioting, vandalism, and some immigration offences.[33][34] There is a mandatory death penalty for murder, and for certain drug-trafficking and firearms offences.[35] Amnesty International has said that some legal provisions conflict with the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that Singapore has "possibly the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population".[36] The government has disputed Amnesty's claims.[37] In a 2008 survey, international business executives believed Singapore, along with Hong Kong, had the best judicial system in Asia.[38] In 2010, Singapore was ranked first for "access to civil justice" and "order and security" by the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index.[39] In Singapore, under the Public Order Act 2009, outdoor public processions or assemblies require police permits. Without police permits, such outdoor assemblies are illegal.[40] Indoor assemblies, however, can be held freely without the need to apply for police permits.[41] The only place in Singapore where outdoor public assemblies do not require police permits is at the Speakers' Corner which is modelled on Hyde Park, London. However, one must still register one's personal details with the National Parks Board online before speaking or protesting at the Speakers' corner, and there are also many CCTVs in the park, a situation that had some Singaporeans and Singaporean MPs complaining.[42][43] Geography Main article: Geography of Singapore Outline of Singapore and the surrounding islands & waterways Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island, widely known as Singapore Island but also as Pulau Ujong.[44] There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Johor–Singapore Causeway in the north, and the Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's smaller islands. The highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill at 166 m (545 ft).[45] There are ongoing land reclamation projects, which have increased Singapore's land area from 581.5 km2 (224.5 sq mi) in the 1960s to 704 km2 (272 sq mi) today; it may grow by another 100 km2 (40 sq mi) by 2030.[46] Some projects involve merging smaller islands through land reclamation to form larger, more functional islands, as with Jurong Island.[47] About 23% of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature reserves.[48] Urbanisation has eliminated most primary rainforest, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve being the only significant remaining forest.[47] There are more than 300 parks and 4 nature reserves in Singapore. There are also many trees planted, and almost fifty per cent of the country is covered by greenery. Because of this, Singapore is also commonly known as the 'Garden City'.[49] Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons, uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures usually range from 23 to 32 °C (73 to 90 °F). Relative humidity averages around 79% in the morning and 73% in the afternoon.[50] April and May are the hottest months, with the wetter monsoon season from November to January.[51] From July to October, there is often haze caused by bush fires in neighbouring Indonesia.[52] Although Singapore does not observe daylight saving time, it follows time zone GMT+8, one hour ahead of its geographical location.[53] Climate data for Singapore Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °C (°F) 30.1 (86.2) 31.1 (88.0) 31.6 (88.9) 31.7 (89.1) 31.6 (88.9) 31.3 (88.3) 30.9 (87.6) 30.9 (87.6) 30.9 (87.6) 31.1 (88.0) 30.6 (87.1) 29.9 (85.8) 31.0 (87.8) Average low °C (°F) 23.3 (73.9) 23.6 (74.5) 23.9 (75.0) 24.4 (75.9) 24.8 (76.6) 24.7 (76.5) 24.5 (76.1) 24.4 (75.9) 24.2 (75.6) 24.0 (75.2) 23.7 (74.7) 23.4 (74.1) 24.1 (75.4) Rainfall mm (inches) 242.5 (9.547) 162.0 (6.378) 184.8 (7.276) 178.8 (7.039) 171.8 (6.764) 161.2 (6.346) 158.3 (6.232) 176.2 (6.937) 169.7 (6.681) 193.9 (7.634) 255.7 (10.067) 288.2 (11.346) 2,343.1 (92.248) % humidity 84.7 82.9 83.8 84.8 84.4 83.0 82.8 83.0 83.5 84.1 86.4 86.9 84.2 Avg. rainy days 15 11 14 15 14 13 13 14 14 16 19 19 177 Mean monthly sunshine hours 173.6 183.6 192.2 174.0 179.8 177.0 189.1 179.8 156.0 155.0 129.0 133.3 2,022.4 Source no. 1: National Environment Agency (Temp 1929-1941 and 1948-2009, Rainfall 1869-2009, Humidity 1929-1941 and 1948-2010, Rain days 1891-2009) [54] Source no. 2: Hong Kong Observatory (sun only, 1982—2008) [55] Economy Main article: Economy of Singapore The port of Singapore, one of the world's five busiest,[56] with the skyline of Singapore in the background Before independence in 1965, Singapore was the capital of the British Straits Settlements, a Crown Colony. It was also the main British naval base in East Asia.[57] Because of its status as the main British naval base in the region, as well as hosting the largest dry dock in the world at that time in the form of the Singapore Naval Base, it was described in the press as the 'Gibraltar of the East'.[58] The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 caused global trade to boom, and Singapore became a major world trade node, and the Port of Singapore became one of the largest and busiest ports in the world.[59] Before independence in 1965, Singapore had a GDP per capita of $511, then the third-highest in East Asia.[60] After independence, foreign direct investment and a state-led drive for industrialisation based on plans by Goh Keng Swee and Albert Winsemius created a modern economy.[61] Today, Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy, based historically on extended entrepôt trade. Along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, Singapore is one of the original Four Asian Tigers. The Singaporean economy is known as one of the freest,[62] most innovative,[63] most competitive,[64] and most business-friendly.[65] The 2011 Index of Economic Freedom ranks Singapore as the second freest economy in the world, behind Hong Kong. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Singapore is consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, along with New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries. Singapore is the 14th largest exporter and the 15th largest importer in the world. The country has the highest trade-to-GDP ratio in the world at 407.9 percent, signifying the importance of trade to its economy. The country is currently the only Asian country to have AAA credit ratings from all three major credit rating agencies – Standard & Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch.[66][67] Singapore attracts a lot of foreign direct investment because of its location, corruption-free environment, skilled workforce, low tax rates and advanced infrastructure. There are more than 7,000 multinational corporations from the United States, Japan, and Europe in Singapore. There are also 1,500 companies from China and 1,500 from India. Foreign firms are found in almost all sectors of the economy.[7] Singapore is also the second largest foreign investor in India.[68] Roughly 44 percent of the Singaporean workforce is made up of non-Singaporeans.[69] Over ten free trade agreements have been signed with other countries and regions.[70] Singapore also possesses the world's tenth largest foreign reserves.[71][72] The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar, issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.[73] It is interchangeable with the Brunei dollar.[74] The Singaporean economy depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing,[75] which constituted 27.2% of GDP in 2010[7] and includes significant electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences sectors. In 2006 Singapore produced about 10% of the world's foundry wafer output.[76] Despite its small size, Singapore has a diversified economy, a strategy that the government considers vital for growth and stability.[77] Tourism also forms a large part of the economy, and 10.2 million tourists visited the country in 2007.[78] To attract more tourists, in 2005 the government legalised gambling and allowed two casino resorts (called Integrated Resorts) to be developed.[79] Singapore is promoting itself as a medical tourism hub: about 200,000 foreigners seek medical care there each year, and Singapore medical services aim to serve one million foreign patients annually by 2012 and generate USD 3 billion in revenue.[80] Singapore is an education hub, and many foreign students study in Singapore. Singapore hosted over 80,000 international students in 2006.[81] There are also more than 5000 Malaysians students who cross the Johor–Singapore Causeway every morning with hopes of receiving a better education in Singapore.[82] In 2009, 20% of all students in Singaporean universities were international students. The students were mainly from ASEAN, China and India.[83] Singapore is a world leader in several economic areas: The country is the world's fourth leading financial centre,[84] the world's second-biggest casino gambling market,[85] one of the world's top three oil refining centres, the world's largest oil-rig producer, and a major ship-repairer.[86][87][88] The port is one of the five busiest ports in the world.[85] The World Bank has named Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business[85] and ranks Singapore the world's top logistics hub.[89] It is also the world's fourth largest foreign-exchange trading centre after London, New York and Tokyo.[90] As a result of global recession and a slump in the technology sector, Singapore's GDP contracted by 2.2% in 2001. The Economic Review Committee was set up in December 2001 and recommended several policy changes to revitalise the economy. Singapore has since recovered, due largely to improvements in the world economy; the economy grew by 8.3% in 2004, 6.4% in 2005,[91] and 7.9% in 2006.[92] After a contraction of 0.8% in 2009, the economy recovered in 2010, with GDP growth of 14.5%.[7] Most work in Singapore is in the service sector, which employed 2,151,400 people out of 3,102,500 jobs in December 2010. The percentage of unemployed economically active people above age 15 is about 2%.[93] Singapore skyline Singapore has the world's highest percentage of millionaire households, with 15.5 percent of all households owning at least one million US