Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a
Southeast Asian island city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. An
island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the
Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the
Singapore Strait to its south. The country is highly urbanised with very little
primary rainforest remaining, although more land is being created for
development through land reclamation.
Part of various local empires since being inhabited in
the 2nd century AD, Singapore hosted a trading post of the East India Company
in 1819 with permission from the Sultanate of Johor. The British obtained
sovereignty over the island in 1824 and Singapore became one of the British
Straits Settlements in 1826. Occupied by the Japanese in World War II,
Singapore declared independence, uniting with other former British territories
to form Malaysia in 1963, although it was separated from Malaysia two years
later. Since then it has had a massive increase in wealth, and is one of the
Four Asian Tigers.
Singapore is the world's fourth leading financial
centre, and its port is one of the five busiest ports in the world. The economy
depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially in
manufacturing, which constituted 26% of Singapore's GDP. In terms of purchasing
power parity, Singapore has the third highest per capita income in the world.
