Portal:Singapore

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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...)

More about Singapore...

View new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

The Mass Rapid Transit system, locally known by the initialism MRT, is a rapid transit system in Singapore and the island country's principal mode of railway transportation. After two decades of planning the system commenced operations in November 1987 with an initial 6 km (3.7 mi) stretch consisting of five stations. The network has since grown to span the length and breadth of the country's main island – with the exception of the forested core and the rural northwestern region – in accordance with Singapore's aim of developing a comprehensive rail network as the backbone of the country's public transportation system, averaging a daily ridership of 3.41 million in 2024.

The MRT network encompasses approximately 242.6 km (150.7 mi) of grade-separated route on standard gauge. As of 2024, there are currently 142 operational stations dispersed across six operational lines arrayed in a circle-radial topology. Two more lines and 45 stations are currently under construction, in addition to ongoing extension works on existing lines. In total, this will schedule the network to double in length to about 460 km (290 mi) by 2040. Further studies are ongoing on potential new alignments and lines, as well as infill stations in the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) Land Transport Masterplan 2040. The island-wide heavy rail network interchanges with a series of automated guideway transit networks localised to select suburban towns — collectively known as the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system — which, along with public buses, complement the mainline by providing a last mile link between MRT stations and HDB public housing estates. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture

Singapore National Day Parade

Photograph credit: Chensiyuan

The Singapore National Day Parade is a national ceremony in Singapore that takes place each year on 9 August to commemorate the country's independence. The firework display seen here was part of the festivities in 2011, held at The Float @ Marina Bay, the world's largest floating stage and football stadium, located on the waters of the Marina Reservoir. In the foreground on the right is the lotus-flower-shaped ArtScience Museum, situated within Marina Bay Sands, an integrated resort that opened in the same year.

More selected pictures

General images

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

Image 1Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 2St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 3Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 41888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 5Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 6Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 7Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 8Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 9Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 10The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 11Chinese 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 12The 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 13The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 14Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 15Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 16Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 171955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 18The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 19A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 20Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (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 22A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 23The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 24Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 25Restored 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 26The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 27Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)
Image 28Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 29View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 30Traffic 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 31Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 32The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 33Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 34The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 35A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 36The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 37Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 38Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 39Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 40Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 41Lieutenant-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)

Selected biography - show another

Tao Li (Chinese: 陶李; pinyin: Táo Lǐ; born 10 January 1990) is a Chinese-born Singaporean competitive swimmer who specializes in the backstroke and butterfly.

Tao has represented Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the Asian Games, World Championship, Commonwealth Games and Olympics. She holds several national records and is the only female Singapore swimmer who qualified for an Olympic Final. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
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 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 gynaecologist Oon Chiew Seng, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2013, was the founding chairperson of the first dementia home in Singapore?
... that the United Ukrainian Ballet Company, consisting of exiled dancers based in The Hague, has toured the UK, Singapore, Australia and the US?
... that Lee Kuan Yew stated that "there would have been no clean and green Singapore without Lee Ek Tieng"?
... 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 artwork at Shenton Way MRT station depicts everyday people running after an old banknote?
... that Ngiam Tong Dow negotiated Singapore's first and largest purchase of gold from South Africa in 1968 by comparing two halves of a United States one-dollar bill?

edit

In this month

2 February 1963: Operation Coldstore takes place. At least 111 anti-government left-wing activists were arrested and detained, including key members of the Barisan Sosialis.
8 February 1819: Sir Stamford Raffles signs a treaty with Sultan Hussein of Johor, thus marking the founding of modern Singapore.
15–25 February 1915: The Singapore Mutiny occurs as British Indian sepoys rose up against the British.
15 February 1942: The Fall of Singapore to the Japanese during World War II. This was described by Winston Churchill as the "worst disaster" and "largest capitulation" in British history.
21 February 2008: The International Olympic Committee awards the hosting rights to the inaugural Youth Olympic Games to Singapore.

More Anniversaries...

edit

More did you know - show different entries

... that the Buddhist Library (pictured), which is located in a shophouse, is Singapore's first dedicated Buddhist library and is unique in that it is neither an association nor a temple?

... that John Martin Scripps was the first Briton in Singapore to be sentenced to death by hanging?

... that Saint Jack, a 1979 fiction film about a prostitute in Singapore and the only Hollywood film about Singapore to be shot on location, was banned in the country until 2006?

... that the Presidential Council for Minority Rights, a Singaporean body that ensures laws do not discriminate against racial or religious minorities, has not issued an adverse report since its creation?

... that Ah Meng, a Sumatran Orangutan and tourism icon of Singapore, had breakfast with celebrities including the Duke of Edinburgh and pop star Michael Jackson?

More...

edit

Selected panorama

Credit: Sengkang (May 2007)

The National Stadium (Chinese: 国家体育场; Malay: Stadium Nasional Singapura) is located in Kallang. Opened in July 1973, the National Stadium was officially closed on June 30, 2007 and will be demolished in late 2008 to make way for the Singapore Sports Hub which is expected to open in 2011.

More selected panoramas • Read more...

edit

Singapore topics

edit

Related portals

Southeast Asia

Other Countries

edit

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
(More...)