Portal:Singapore

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Welcome to the Singapore Portal

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north.

Singapore's history dates back at least eight hundred years, having been a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to British control as a separate Crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and, in 1963, became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers.

As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the world. It is also identified as a tax haven. Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers. Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world. It has the third highest population density of any country in the world, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the common language, with exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

Singapore is a parliamentary republic in the Westminster tradition of unicameral parliamentary government, and its legal system is based on common law. While the country is de jure a multi-party democracy with free elections, the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields widespread control and political dominance. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, and holds a supermajority in Parliament. One of the five founding members of ASEAN, Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council Secretariat, and is the host city of many international conferences and events. Singapore is also a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations. (Full article...)

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Marine Parade Community Building (Chinese: 马林百列社区综合大厦; pinyin: Mǎlín Bǎiliè shèqū zhōnghé dàshà) was a community centre located at 278 Marine Parade Road, Singapore. Opened on 6 March 2000, it houses the formerly separate Marine Parade Community Centre and Marine Parade Public Library, as well as a performing arts group, The Necessary Stage. Designed by William Lim Associates, one of the distinguishing features of the postmodern building is the mural cladding called the "Texturefulness of Life", the largest piece of installation art in Singapore. It was demolished in 2022 and is being rebuilt. (Full article...)

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Jewel Changi Airport

Photograph credit: Matteo Morando

Jewel Changi Airport is a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex in Changi Airport, Singapore, linked to three of its passenger terminals. Its centrepiece is the world's tallest indoor waterfall, the Rain Vortex, which is surrounded by a terraced forest setting. It houses around 3,000 trees and 60,000 shrubs of 120 species from high-altitude, tropical forest habitats around the world.

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General images

The following are images from various Singapore-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 2A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 3Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 4The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 5Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 61888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 7A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 8Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 9The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 10A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 11Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 12Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 13Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 14The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 15Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 16Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 17Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 18Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 19Restored shophouses running along a street in Chinatown, which reflects the Victorian architecture of buildings built in Singapore during the earlier colonial period, with styles such as the painted ladies. (from History of Singapore)
Image 20Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 21The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 22The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 23Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 24Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 25Chinese community in Singapore carrying the Flag of the Republic of China (written Long live the motherland) to celebrate the victory, also reflected the Chinese identity issues at that time. (from History of Singapore)
Image 261955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 27Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 28Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 29The Mao Kun map from Wubei Zhi which is based on the early 15th century maps of Zheng He showing Temasek (淡馬錫) at the top left, and Long Ya Men (龍牙門) on the right panel. (from History of Singapore)
Image 30Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 31Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 32The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 33Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. (from History of Singapore)
Image 34The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 35Engraving of Sir Stamford Raffles by James Thomson
Image 36Traffic in Singapore, 1981. Prior to the introduction of the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) in 1990, vehicles per capita in Singapore was the highest in ASEAN. (from History of Singapore)
Image 37View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 38Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 39The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 40Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 41St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)

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Xiaxue at the National Library in September 2005

Cheng Yan Yan Wendy (born Cheng Yan Yan; 28 April 1984), better known by her pseudonym Xiaxue, is a Singaporean blogger and online television personality who writes about her life, fashion and local issues in a provocative style. Her main blog, which attracts about 50,000 readers daily, has won prestigious blog awards and earned her sponsorship deals, as well as stints as a columnist and TV show host, but some of her posts have sparked national controversies. (Full article...)

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Ho Yuen Hoe Gan Eng Seng Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo Teresa Hsu Fandi Ahmad Denise Phua Li Jiawei Glenn Knight Laurentia Tan Tao Li Yip Pin Xiu Neila Sathyalingam Walter Woon Han Sai Por Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that an artwork in Singapore's Outram Park MRT station represents the state of mind of commuters through 69 engravings of surreal human forms?
... that badminton in Singapore began in the early 19th century?
... that some people have asked whether they can pay for their Singapore hotel stay using a travel card?
... that the annual energy cost of a single fume hood in Singapore can be up to US$9,300?
... that Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann declined a request from Lee Kuan Yew to help design Singapore?
... that Alan Choe was tasked with developing Queenstown, Singapore's first satellite town, after its British architects left the country in the mid-1950s?

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In this month

12 October 1978: The worst industrial accident in Singapore, the Spyros disaster, occurs, killing 76 people.
25 October 2007: Singapore Airlines makes the world's first commercial flight via the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet.
31 October 1971: The last British military forces withdraw from Singapore.
31 October 1981: Opposition MP Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam is elected into Parliament, breaking a 16-year monopoly of the House by the People's Action Party.
31 October 2000: Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crashes during take-off in Chiang Kai Shek International Airport, killing 83 people.

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... that the National Art Gallery of Singapore will incorporate two national monuments — the Old Supreme Court Building and the City Hall (both pictured)?

... that Chia Thye Poh, formerly detained under Singapore's Internal Security Act, has been called "the world's second longest serving prisoner-of-conscience after South Africa's Nelson Mandela"?

... that former chef Aziza Ali is credited with establishing Singapore's first Malay restaurant?

... that animator Nickson Fong is the first Singaporean to receive an Academy Award?

... that the Singapore Constitution that came into force on 9 August 1965 was not drafted as a single document but was made up of provisions from three separate statutes?

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Selected panorama

Credit: Chensiyuan (10 February 2012)

A view of the Marina Bay area from the Singapore Flyer.

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Southeast Asia

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Tasks

Things you can do

Check for latest announcements and updates at the WikiProject Singapore
Make yourself known as a Singaporean Wikipedian
Create or improve on the articles listed in the to do list
Share with us your level of proficiency in Singlish by putting one of the 4 Singlish Babel tags (1 2 3 4) onto your user page
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