User:WikiProject Countries/Singapore
The Singapore Portal
Singapore is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the Equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 704.0 km² (272 sq mi), it is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia. The British East India Company established a trading post on the island in 1819. The main settlement up to that point was a Malay fishing village at the mouth of the Singapore River. Several hundred indigenous Orang Laut people also lived around the coast, rivers and smaller islands. The British used Singapore as a strategic trading post along the spice route. It became one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire. Winston Churchill called it "Britain's greatest defeat" when it was occupied by the Japanese during World War II. Singapore reverted to British rule in 1945. In 1963, it merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. Less than two years later it split from the federation and became an independent republic on August 9, 1965. Singapore joined the United Nations on September 21 that same year. Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has increased. A state-led industrialization drive, aided by foreign direct investment has created a modern economy based on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism and financial services alongside the traditional entrepôt trade. Singapore is the 17th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita. The small nation has a foreign reserve of S$222 billion (US$147 billion). Selected articleThe Republic of Singapore or Singapore is a country in the continent of Asia at the southern end of the Malay peninsula. Singapore is north of the equator. Its neighbours are Malaysia and Indonesia. About 4.66 million people live in Singapore and many of them (76%) are Chinese. In Sanskrit, an old Indian language, "Singapore" means "Lion city". Selected picture A picture of Singapore's national flower - Vanda Miss Joaquim Note that this picture isn't really a selected picture by the Wikipedia community, but is considered one of the finest photos taken. Did you know...
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