Singapore | Facts, Geography, History, & Points of Interest

Singapore, city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, about 85 miles (137 kilometres) north of the Equator. Singapore TableofContents Introduction&QuickFactsThelandReliefDrainageandsoilsClimatePlantandanimallifeSettlementpatternsThepeopleEthnolinguisticcompositionReligionsDemographictrendsTheeconomyResources,agriculture,andfisheriesIndustryServicesandtourismFinanceTradeTransportationAdministrationandsocialconditionsGovernmentThepoliticalprocessJusticeArmedforcesandsecurityEducationHealthandwelfareCulturallifeHistoryEastIndiaCompanyDevelopmentoftheportWorldWarIIandtheendofcolonialismFirstdecadesofself-governmentSingaporesince1990 FastFacts 2-MinSummary Facts&Stats Media Videos Images Audio More AdditionalReading MoreArticlesOnThisTopic Contributors ArticleHistory Home Geography&Travel CountriesoftheWorld Singapore Alternatetitles:Hsin-chia-p’oKung-ho-kuo,RepublicofSingapore,SingaporeKudiyarasu,Temasek,Tumasik Print print Print Pleaseselectwhichsectionsyouwouldliketoprint: TableOfContents Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. SelectCitationStyle MLA APA ChicagoManualofStyle CopyCitation Share Share Sharetosocialmedia Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Singapore More GiveFeedback ExternalWebsites Feedback Corrections?Updates?Omissions?Letusknowifyouhavesuggestionstoimprovethisarticle(requireslogin). FeedbackType Selectatype(Required) FactualCorrection Spelling/GrammarCorrection LinkCorrection AdditionalInformation Other YourFeedback SubmitFeedback Thankyouforyourfeedback Oureditorswillreviewwhatyou’vesubmittedanddeterminewhethertorevisethearticle. JoinBritannica'sPublishingPartnerProgramandourcommunityofexpertstogainaglobalaudienceforyourwork! ExternalWebsites CentralIntelligenceAgency-TheWorldFactbook-Singapore HistoryLearningSite-TheFallofSingapore BritannicaWebsites ArticlesfromBritannicaEncyclopediasforelementaryandhighschoolstudents. Singapore-Children'sEncyclopedia(Ages8-11) Singapore-StudentEncyclopedia(Ages11andup) By RichardOlofWinstedt |SeeAll • LastUpdated: Mar12,2022 • EditHistory flagofSingapore AudioFile: NationalanthemofSingapore Seeallmedia Capital: Singapore ...(Showmore) Population: (2021est.)5,709,0002 ...(Showmore) CurrencyExchangeRate: 1USDequals1.365Singaporedollar ...(Showmore) HeadOfState: President:HalimahYacob ...(Showmore) HeadOfStateGovernment: PrimeMinister:LeeHsienLoong ...(Showmore) Seeallfacts&stats→ Singapore,city-statelocatedatthesoutherntipoftheMalayPeninsula,about85miles(137kilometres)northoftheEquator.Itconsistsofthediamond-shapedSingaporeIslandandsome60smallislets;themainislandoccupiesallbutabout18squaremilesofthiscombinedarea.ThemainislandisseparatedfromPeninsularMalaysiatothenorthbyJohorStrait,anarrowchannelcrossedbyaroadandrailcausewaythatismorethanhalfamilelong.ThesouthernlimitsofthestaterunthroughSingaporeStrait,whereoutliersoftheRiau-LinggaArchipelago—whichformsapartofIndonesia—extendtowithin10milesofthemainisland.SingaporeSingapore.EncyclopædiaBritannica,Inc.StreetsceneinSingapore.©MichaelLevySingaporeNightviewofSingapore.Chensiyuan(CC-BY-3.0)TakeatourofSingapore,acitywithamulticulturalheritageOverviewofSingapore.Contunico©ZDFEnterprisesGmbH,MainzSeeallvideosforthisarticleSingaporeisthelargestportinSoutheastAsiaandoneofthebusiestintheworld.ItowesitsgrowthandprosperitytoitsfocalpositionatthesouthernextremityoftheMalayPeninsula,whereitdominatestheStraitofMalacca,whichconnectstheIndianOceantotheSouthChinaSea.OnceaBritishcolonyandnowamemberoftheCommonwealth,SingaporefirstjoinedtheFederationofMalaysiaonitsformationin1963butsecededtobecomeanindependentstateonAugust9,1965.SingaporeEncyclopædiaBritannica,Inc.AsculptureoftheMerlion,Singapore.©MichaelLevy BritannicaQuiz YouNameIt! WhichcountryisknownastheIsleofSpice?WhatistheLatinnameforSwitzerland?Testyournamingknowledgeinthisquiz. Theland Relief Nearlytwo-thirdsofthemainislandislessthan50feet(15metres)abovesealevel.TimahHill,thehighestsummit,hasanelevationofonly531feet(162metres);withotherpeaks,suchasPanjangandMandaihills,itformsablockofruggedterraininthecentreoftheisland.Tothewestandsoutharelowerscarpswithmarkednorthwest-southeasttrends,suchasMountFaber.Theeasternpartoftheislandisalowplateaucutbyerosionintoanintricatepatternofhillsandvalleys.Thesephysicalunitsreflecttheirgeologicfoundations:thecentralhillsareformedfromgraniterocks,thescarplandsfromhighlyfoldedandfaultedsedimentaryrocks,andtheeasternplateaufromuncompactedsandsandgravels.SingaporeSingaporeEncyclopædiaBritannica,Inc. Drainageandsoils Adensenetworkofshortstreamsdrainstheisland,butfloodsarelocallyseverebecausethestreamshavelowgradientsandbecauseofexcessivewaterrunofffromclearedland.Manystreams,especiallythosedrainingnorthward,havebroadmangrove-fringedestuariesthatextendfarinland.Noneofthesoilsisevenreasonablyfertile,butthosederivedfromthegranitestendtobebetterthanmost.Soilsdevelopedfromthesedimentaryrocksarevariable,butmanycontainhardpans(compactedlayers)thatrestrictplantrootsandimpedesoildrainage.ThesoilsofeasternSingaporeareextremelyinfertile.Allhavesufferedextensivedegradationthrougherosionasaresultofgenerationsofcarelesshumanexploitation. Climate SingaporeisintheequatorialmonsoonregionofSoutheastAsia,anditsclimateischaracterizedbyuniformlyhightemperaturesandnearlyconstantprecipitationthroughouttheyear.Theaveragemonthlytemperaturevariesfromabout81°F(27°C)inJuneto77°F(25°C)inJanuary.Thedailyrangeissomewhatgreater,averagingabout13°F(7°C).Singapore’smaritimelocationandconstanthumidity,however,keepmaximumtemperaturesrelativelymoderate:thehighesttemperatureeverrecordedwasonly97°F(36°C). Theseasonsaredefinedbytherelativeincidenceofrainfall,which,inturn,isdeterminedbythemovementsofthemonsoonairmasses.Thewettestandwindiestperiodisduringthenortheastmonsoon(November–March),withrainfallreachinganaveragemonthlyhighofmorethan10inches(250millimetres)inDecember.Conversely,theperiodoftheleastamountofrainfallandthelightestwindsisduringthesouthwestmonsoon(May–September),withrainfalldroppingtoamonthlylowoflessthan7inchesinJuly.AprilandOctoberareintermonsoonalperiodscharacterizedbysluggishairmovementsandintenseafternoonshowersandthunderstorms.Altogether,Singapore’sprecipitationaveragesabout95inchesannually,andrainfallssomewhereontheislandeverydayoftheyear. Plantandanimallife Littleremainsoftheoriginalvegetationoranimallife,exceptforafewthousandacresofevergreenrainforestpreservedaroundcatchmentareas.SomemangrovevegetationsurvivesintheKranjiareaonthenorthwestsideoftheisland,butelsewheretractsofscruborcogongrass(calledlalanglocally)arecommon.Manyexoticplantshavebeenintroducedforornamentaluse.Thelargestnativeanimalsarethelong-tailedmacaque(anAsianspeciesofmonkey),theslowloris(alarge-eyedtaillessnocturnallemur),andthescalyanteater.Birdsarenumerous,especiallythoseliketheIndianmynahbird,thebrahminykite(akitewithreddishbrownplumageandawhiteheadandbreast),andthehouseswallowthathaveadaptedtoasymbioticrelationshipwithhumans.Reptiles,suchascobrasandlizards,alsoarecommon.Fringingcoralreefswiththeirassociatedfishandwildlifeoccuraroundmanypartsofthecoast.JurongBirdParkFlamingosatJurongBirdPark,Singapore.TerenceOng Settlementpatterns ThecityofSingaporeissituatedinthesouthernportionofthemainisland.Overtime,urbanizationhasblurredthedifferencesbetweencityandcountry.Built-upareasnowcoveralargepartofthecity-state.Theolderpartsofthecityhavebeensubstantiallyrefurbished,especiallyalongtheSingaporeRiverbutelsewhereaswell.Theonce-commonChineseshop-house,consistingoflivingquartersaboveacommercialestablishment,graduallyhasbeendisappearingfromthecity.Instead,thegovernment’sHousingandDevelopmentBoard(HDB)hasrelocatedcommerceintoseparatedistrictsandhascreatedintegratedresidentialcommunitiesinhabitedbypeoplewithamixtureofincomes.Aboutfour-fifthsofSingapore’spopulationnowresidesinhigh-riseHDBflatslocatedinhousingestatesandnewtowns.Thenewtowns—suchasWoodlands,Tampines,andYishun—arescatteredacrosstheislandandarecharacterizedbyeasyaccesstoplacesofemploymentandshoppingdistricts.ThetraditionalMalaykampongsettlements—consistingofstilthousesbuiltalongtheshoreline—aredeclininginnumberandarenowfoundonlyinselectruralareas. 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