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; subsequently, it was part of 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 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, 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 it is constitutionally a multi-party democracy where free elections are regularly held, it functions as a de facto one-party state, with the People's Action Party (PAP) maintaining continuous political dominance since 1959. The PAP's longstanding control has resulted in limited political pluralism and a highly centralised governance structure over national institutions. 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...

Selected article -

Pathlight School Campus 1 in 2011

Pathlight School is a special school for children with autism in Singapore. Founded in 2004, it is run by the non-profit Autism Resource Centre and comprises one half of the national educational provision for autistic children. The school educates students in social and life skills, teaches them mainstream curriculum subjects and prepares them for employment in an autism friendly environment.

The school has 2 branches, one in Ang Mo Kio (Campus 1 and 2) and the other, a new campus in Tampines (as of 2025). (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected picture

Henderson Waves, a 274-metre (900-foot) long pedestrian bridge connecting Mount Faber Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park. At 36 metres (120 feet) above Henderson Road, it is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. Read more...

General images

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

Image 1A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 2Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 3Restored 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 4Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 5The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 6The 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 7A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 8The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 9View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 10Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 11Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 12Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 13The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 14Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 15Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 16Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 17Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 18Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 19Traffic 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 20A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 21The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 22Chinese 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 23Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 24Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 25The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 261955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 27Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)
Image 28The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 291888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 30Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 31Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 32The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (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 34Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 35A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 36The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 37St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 38Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 39Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 40Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 41Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)

Selected biography -

The smaller of two pieces making up Han's Seeds (2006), at the National Museum of Singapore

Han Sai Por (Chinese: 韓少芙; born 19 July 1943) is a Singaporean sculptor and artist. A graduate of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), East Ham College of Art, Wolverhampton College of Art (now the School of Art and Design of the University of Wolverhampton), and Lincoln University, New Zealand, she worked as a teacher and later as a part-time lecturer at NAFA, the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, and the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, before becoming a full-time artist in 1997.

Han has participated in exhibitions locally and abroad, including events in China, Denmark, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and South Korea. Her first solo exhibition, entitled Four Dimensions, was held at the National Museum Art Gallery in 1993. Her sculptures can be found around the world, in Osaka and Shōdoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, in Japan; Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak in Malaysia; and Washington, D.C., in Singapore, sculptures commissioned from her can be seen at Capital Tower, the Defence Science Organisation National Laboratories, the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, the National Museum of Singapore, Revenue House, Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3, Suntec City Mall, and Woodlands Regional Library. In 2001, Han was the founding President of the Sculpture Society (Singapore) and remains its Honorary President. She was the first artist in residence at the Society's Sculpture Pavilion at Fort Canning Park in 2009, where she worked on sculptures made from the trunks of tembusu trees. (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 Tao Li Yip Pin Xiu Neila Sathyalingam Walter Woon Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan Xiaxue

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Chinese Garden MRT station did not originally have access to the Chinese Garden?
... that Tropicana was reportedly the first building in Singapore to contain nightclubs, restaurants, and a theatre?
... that artwork at Shenton Way MRT station depicts everyday people running after an old banknote?
... that George Bogaars, as head of Singapore's Secret Branch, oversaw the detention of more than a hundred suspected communist sympathisers?
... that Singaporean performance artist Josef Ng was fined S$1,000 for partially exposing his buttocks and snipping his pubic hair during a public performance?
... that some people have asked whether they can pay for their Singapore hotel stay using a travel card?

In this month

1 July 1981: Singapore Changi Airport starts operation.
6 July 1990: The East West Line, one of the main lines on Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit system, is completed.
21 July 1964: An ethnic riot between the Malays and Chinese breaks out on Prophet Muhammad's birthday. 23 people are killed.

More Anniversaries...

More did you know -

... that the High Court of Singapore (Supreme Court Building pictured) is the sole court in Singapore exercising original criminal jurisdiction that may impose the death penalty?

... that through the opening of the Thomson–East Coast MRT line by 2020, Singapore's rail network density will rise from 31 km per million residents today to 51 km per million, surpassing what Hong Kong and Tokyo currently have?

... that the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act of Singapore allows restrictions to be placed on religious leaders who promote political causes under the guise of religious activity?

...that Inuka, a polar bear who is the mascot of the Singapore Zoo, is the first and only polar bear born in the tropics?

...that the apparent disparagement of Singapore as a "little red dot" by former Indonesian President B.J. Habibie has come to be used by Singaporeans with pride?

More...

Selected panorama

The skyline of Singapore's Central Business District in daytime. Notable landmarks in the picture includes the new and old Supreme Court of Singapore and the skyscrapers in the Marina Bay area.

Singapore topics

Related portals

Southeast Asia

Other Countries

Tasks

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...)

Wikiprojects

WikiProject Singapore
Other Wikipedias: Chinese Wikipedia • Ukrainian Wikipedia • Finnish Wikipedia

Related Wikiprojects: South East Asia

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
Wikidata
Free knowledge base
Wikinews
Free-content news
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikiversity
Free learning tools
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus

Discover Wikipedia using portals