Singapore

Singapore

Singapore officially the Republic of Singapore , is an island country off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula , 137 kilometers ( 85 miles) north of the equator in Southeast Asia . The country is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to the north , and from the Riau Islands , Indonesia by the Singapore Strait to the south . Singapore is the fourth leading financial center in the world and a cosmopolitan world city, playing a vital role in international trade and finance . The Port of Singapore is one of the five busiest ports in the world .

Singapore has a long history of immigration . Diverse population amounted to 5 million people , made ​​up of Chinese , Malay , Indian , various Asian , and Caucasian . 42% of the population in Singapore are foreigners who work and study there . Foreign workers make up 50 % of the service sector . The country is the second most populous in the world after Monako.AT Kearney ranks Singapore as the most globalized country in the world in the 2006 Globalization Index .

Before independence in 1965 , Singapore was a vibrant trading port with a GDP per capita of $ 511 , the third highest in East Asia then it.After independence , foreign direct investment and the government's efforts for industrialization based on plans the former Deputy Prime Minister Dr . Goh Keng Swee shaping Singapore's economy today .

The Economist Intelligence Unit in its " Quality of Life Index " ranks Singapore as having the best quality of life in Asia and eleventh in the world . Singapore has the ninth largest foreign reserves in the world . The country also has an advanced armed forces .

Singapore consists of 63 islands , including mainland Singapore . The main island is often called the Singapore Island but is officially called the Island Ujong ( Malay : transliterated as island at land's end ( peninsula ) . Artificial There are two bridges towards Johor , Malaysia : the Johor- Singapore Causeway in the north , and the Tuas Second Link in the west . Jurong Island , Island tekong , Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of several small islands in Singapore . highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill with a height of 166 m ( 545 feet ) .

Singapore has a land reclamation projects with earth obtained from the hills, the seabed , and neighboring countries . As a result, Singapore's land area extends from 581.5 km ² ( 224.5 mi ² ) in the 1960s to 704 km ² ( 271.8 mi ² ) on this day , and will be expanded again to 100 km ² ( 38.6 mi ² ) in 2030 . This job sometimes requires some small island coupled through land reclamation to form larger islands and useful , for example Jurong Island .