About Singapore

Singapore (English spelling: [sɪŋəpɔr]), its official name the Republic of Singapore, is an island nation 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 in the south. Singapore is the fourth leading financial center in the world [15] and a cosmopolitan world city which played an important role in international trade and finance. Port of Singapore is one of the five busiest ports in the world. [16]

Singapore has a long history of immigration. Diverse population amounted to 5 million people, consists of Chinese, Malays, Indians, many of Asian descent, and Caucasian. [17] 42% of Singapore residents are foreigners who work and study there. Foreign workers make up 50% of the service sector. [18] [19] The country is the second most populous in the world after Monaco. [20] AT Kearney refer to Singapore as the most globalized country in the world in the 2006 Globalization Index. [21]
Before independence in 1965, Singapore is a trading port that varies with GDP per capita of $ 511, the third highest in East Asia at that time. [22] Following independence, foreign direct investment and the government's drive to industrialization based on the plan of former Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Goh Keng Swee Singapore's current economic form. [23]
Economist Intelligence Unit in the "Quality of Life Index" puts Singapore on the ranking of the best quality of life in Asia and eleventh in the world. [24] Singapore has the ninth largest foreign exchange reserves in the world. [25] [26] The country also has an advanced armed forces . [27] [28]
After its GDP decreased -6.8% in the 4th quarter of 2009, [29] Singapore earned the world's fastest economic growth, with GDP growth of 17.9% in the first half of 2010.