Land and Climate
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People
Singapore's people are largely descendants of immigrants from the Malay Peninsula, China and the Indian sub-continent. |
Education
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Government
Singapore is a republic with a parliamentary system of government based on the Westminster model. The organs of state comprise. |
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The Executive: Head of State and Cabinet
Head of State: President S R Nathan, elected on 1 Sep 1999 (The President is elected for a fixed term of 6 years.)
Cabinet: Led by the Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong (since 12 Aug 2004)
Parliament
Parliament is elected by general election every five years. The first sitting of Parliament was held on 8 Dec 1965. The first general election for Parliament was held on 13 Apr 1968. There are 23 registered political parties. The current Parliament, elected on 3 Nov 2001 has 82 People's Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament (MPs), 2 Opposition MPs and 1 Non-Constituency MP. In addition there are 7 nominated MPs.
The Judiciary: The Supreme Court and the Subordinate Courts
The Judiciary is one of the three constitutional pillars of government along with the Legislature and the Executive. As an Organ of State, the Judiciary's function is to independently administer justice. The Judiciary is safeguarded by the Constitution.
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Economic Indicators
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Trade (2005)
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Major trading partners: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, China, Saudi Arabia, United States of America and Australia.
Transport and Communications
Port statistics 2005:
- Total no. of vessels calling at the Singapore port: 130,318
Airport statistics (up to 2007):
- Total no. of airline served: 84 (scheduled)
- Connecting Singapore to more than 180 cities in 57 countries
- No. of flights per week: 4,199
Total no. of vehicles in Singapore (2005): 754,992 (of which 440,583 are cars and rental cars)
Forms of public transport:
- MRT service: 68 stations
- LRT service: 43 stations
- Bus service: 2 companies operating 265 routes with a fleet of 3,429 buses
- Taxi service:6 groups of operators running a fleet of 20,407 taxis
Forms of communications (April 2008):
Total no. of mobile subscriptions: 5,993,800 (130.6%)
Total no. of pager subscribers: 29,500 (0.6%)
Residential telephone line subscriptions: 1,862,500 (95.4%)
Total no. of Internet dial-up subscriptions: 122,400 (2.7%)
Total no. of residential broadband subscriptions: 940,500 (82.5%)
Employment (2005)
Labour force: 2,367,300
Employed persons: 2,266,700
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)
Wage policies: The National Wages Council made up of representatives from the government, employers groups & trade unions advises the government on wage policies, and issues guidelines in line with long term economic objectives. There are 70 registered employees' trade unions and 3 employer unions and one federation of employee trade union, National Trade Union Congress (NTUC). NTUC works closely with the government and business sector to look after workers' interest.
*includes public housing
**including Foreign Affairs, Trade & Industry. $625 million set aside for R&D activities
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Mass Media
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No. of local newspapers |
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10 dailies with an average combined circulation of about 1.5 million |
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No. of foreign publications, journals & magazines |
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5,500 |
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No. of TV broadcasters |
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1 (MediaCorp) |
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No. of radio broadcasters |
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6 (MediaCorp Radio, UnionWorkds, SAFRA Radio, National Arts Council, Redifussion and BBC World Service) |
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No. of TV cable operator |
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1 (StarHub Cable TV) |
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No.s of radio channels (domestic) |
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18 |
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No. of free terrestrial TV channels |
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8 |
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Internet dial-up penetration rate |
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2.7% (as at April 08) |
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Cable modem subscribers |
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406,800 (as at April 08) |
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xDSL subscribers |
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502,300 (as at April 2008) |
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Wireless Broadband subscribers |
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2,862,800 (as at April 2008) |
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Broadband Penetration |
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82.5% of Singapore households (as at April 2008) |
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Arts
The National Arts Council, the national agency spearheading the development of the arts in Singapore, manages Kallang Theatre (1,744 seats), Victoria Theatre (904 seats) and the Drama Centre (326 seats). The other major arts venue is the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay. Opened Oct 2002, the arts centre is managed by The Esplanade Co Ltd and comprises a 1,600-seat Concert Hall (with 200 additional seats in the Gallery), a 2,000-seat Theatre, a 250-seat Recital studio, a 220-seat Theatre Studio, a rehearsal studio, outdoor performing spaces and Esplanade mall.
There are currently 3 National Museums, namely the Singapore History Museum and the Singapore Art Museum and the Asian Civilisations Museum. The Singapore Philatelic Museum is a subsidiary museum. Other museums maintained by various private and para-governmental agencies include: Fort Siloso and Images of Singapore in Sentosa, The Battle Box at Fort Canning, Lee Kong Chian Art Museum and Ng Eng Teng Art gallery at the National University of Singapore, Changi Chapel & Museum, Fuk Tai Chi Museum at Telok Ayer Street, Sports museum, Sun Yat Sen Nanyang memorial Hall, Civil Defence Heritage Gallery, and Chinese Heritage Centre
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Tourism
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