Portal:Singapore

Welcome to the Singapore Portal

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in 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.

In its early history, Singapore was 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 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 PPP-adjusted GDP per capita. 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, 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.

Singapore is a parliamentary republic 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. 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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The North–South Line (NSL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore, operated by SMRT Corporation. Coloured red on the Singapore rail map, the line is 45 kilometres (28 mi) long and serves 27 stations, 11 of which, between the Braddell and Marina South Pier stations, are underground. It runs from Jurong East station, located in Western Singapore, to Marina South Pier station in the Central Area, via Woodlands station in northern Singapore. The line operates for almost 20 hours a day (from approximately 5am to 1am the next day), with headways of 1 to 2 minutes during peak hours and 5 to 6 minutes during off-peak hours. All the trains on the North–South Line run with a six-car formation.

It was the first MRT line to be built in Singapore, with the first section from Yio Chu Kang station to Toa Payoh station beginning service on 7 November 1987, followed by an extension southwards to Raffles Place station on 12 December the same year and northwards to Yishun station on 20 December 1988. After the southern extension to Marina Bay station opened on 4 November 1989, the North–South Line was formed and split from the East–West Line. In the 1990s, the line extended to the north and west connecting to the Branch line via Woodlands through the Woodlands line extension. (Full article...)

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Credit: Sengkang (23 October 2005)

The Jurong BirdPark (Chinese: 裕廊飞禽公园; Malay: Taman Burung Jurong), is a tourist attraction in Singapore managed by Widlife Reserves Singapore. It is a landscaped park, built on the western slope of Jurong Hill. It is located within the Boon Lay Planning Area of the Jurong district and has an area of 202,000 square metres. Read more...

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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 2Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 3The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 4The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 5Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 6The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 7Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 8Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 9Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 10A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 11A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 12Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 13The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 141888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 15Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 16Traffic 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 17Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 18Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 19Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 20Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 21A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 22Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 23The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 24Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 25Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 261955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 27Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 28Chinese 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 29St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 30Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 31Restored 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 32Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 33Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)
Image 34The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 35Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 36The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (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 39Lieutenant-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 40The 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 41The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)

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Teresa Hsu Chih (7 July 1898 – 7 December 2011) (Chinese: 许哲; pinyin: Xǔ Zhe), was a Chinese-born Singaporean charity worker, social worker, yoga teacher, nurse, and supercentenarian known affectionately as "Singapore's Mother Teresa", in recognition for her active lifelong devotion in helping the aged, sick, and destitutes locally. The retired nurse was the founder of the non-profit charities—Heart to Heart Service and the Home for the Aged Sick, one of the first homes for the aged sick in Singapore. She had been a social worker in China and Paraguay and a nurse in England, before coming to Singapore to start similar non-profit charities since 1961. Despite being a supercentenarian, Hsu was still involved in charity work and was one of very few supercentenarians who were recognised for reasons other than their longevity. She had spent almost all her savings on feeding and housing the poor and the elderly, all of whom were younger than she was, while she herself led a simple and humble lifestyle. In 2005, she received the Special Recognition Award from the Singapore government in recognition of her contribution to the country. (Full article...)

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Ho Yuen Hoe Gan Eng Seng Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo 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 Xiaxue

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Singaporean broadcaster Lee Fook Hong legally changed his name to Lee Dai Sor (literally 'Lee Big Fool' in Cantonese) after being accused of tax evasion?
... that Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son Lee Hsien Loong donated the "unsolicited discounts" from their controversial purchase of condominium units to charity?
... that many Jehovah's Witnesses in Singapore have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in the military?
... that Bayfront MRT station in Singapore has public art that features ships powered by whales and dragons, hand-drawn by children?
... that Singapore's first R-rated play was performed despite the police finding parts of it "offensive"?
... that Singaporean singer Dawn Gan played herself in a television drama about aspiring singers?

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In this month

1 April 1867: The Straits Settlements becomes a crown colony of the British Empire.
2 April 1955: David Saul Marshall becomes the first Chief Minister of Singapore.
18 April 2005: Casino-gambling is legalised and the construction of two Integrated Resorts is approved by the government.
19 April 1968: The People's Action Party won all seats in Singapore's first general election after independence.
20 April 2004: A section of Nicoll Highway collapses, killing 4 people.

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... that the Golden Mile Complex (pictured), which was designed as an avant-garde building with a stepped terrace structure, was once described as a "vertical slum" by a Singapore Nominated Member of Parliament?

... that Singapore's Ee Hoe Hean Club, a century-old millionaires' club for Chinese businessmen, became a headquarters of an anti-Japanese movement in Southeast Asia from 1937-1942?

... that in her début at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Tao Li broke the Asian record for the 100m butterfly twice and became the first Singaporean swimmer to enter an Olympic final?

... that Farrer Park is where Singapore's first racecourse was built and the island's aviation history began?

... that at the age of 10, Megan Zheng became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse Award?

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Credit: Sengkang (18 August 2007)

Tanjong Chek Jawa (or Tanjung Chek Jawa or simply Chek Jawa; Chinese: 仄爪哇) is a cape and the name of its 100-hectare wetlands located on the south-eastern tip of Pulau Ubin, an island off the north-eastern coast of the main island of Singapore.

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