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Singapore Profile |
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Quick Facts About Singapore
Capital
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name: Singapore
geographic coordinates: 1 17 N, 103 51 E
time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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Country Name
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conventional long form: Republic of Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore
local long form: Republic of Singapore
local short form: Singapore
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Dependency Status
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*
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Type of Government
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parliamentary republic
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Background
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Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. Singapore subsequently became one of the world"s most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world"s busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
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Branches
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Singapore Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense) (2010)
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Age Structure
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0-14 years: 14.1% (male 343,424/female 319,277)
15-64 years: 76.9% (male 1,758,670/female 1,856,862)
65 years and over: 9% (male 188,667/female 234,169) (2010 est.)
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Languages
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Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
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Population
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4,701,069 (July 2010 est.)
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Religions
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Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census)
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Internet Users
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3.37 million (2008)
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Area - Comparative
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slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
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Area
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total: 697 sq km
land: 687 sq km
water: 10 sq km
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Terrain
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lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve
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Climate
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tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
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Natural Hazards
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NA
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Source:
CIA World Factbook |
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