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singapore
Singapore (i /ˈsɪŋəpɔː(r)/), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asiancity-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. 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.
Singapore had been a part of various local empires since it was first inhabited in the second century AD. It 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 on the industry sector and the service sector heavily, which constituted 27.2% and 72.8% respectively of Singapore's GDP in 2010.
Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameralPeople's Action Party (PAP) has won every election since self-government in 1959. The legal system of Singapore has its foundations in the English common law system, but modifications have been made to it over the years, such as the removal of trial by jury. The PAP's popular image is that of a strong, experienced and highly-qualified government, backed by a skilled Civil Service and an education systemmeritocracy; but it is perceived by voters, opposition critics and international observers alike as being authoritarian and being too restrictive on individual freedom. parliamentary government. The with an emphasis on achievement and
Some 5 million people live in Singapore, of whom 2.91 million were born locally. Most are of Chinese, Malay or Indian descent. There are four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. One of the five founding members of the Association of South East Asian Nations, Singapore also hosts the APEC Secretariat, and is a member of the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth.
Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy, based historically on extended entrepôt trade. Along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Republic of China (Taiwan), Singapore is one of the Four Asian Tigers. The economy depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing,[44] which constituted 27.2% of Singapore's GDP in 2010[6] and includes significant electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences sectors. In 2006 Singapore produced about 10% of the world's foundry wafer output.[45] The country is the world's fourth leading financial centre.[46] Singapore has one of the busiest ports in the world and is the world's fourth largest foreign-exchange trading centre after London, New York and Tokyo.[47] The World Bank ranks Singapore as the world's top logistics hub.[48]
Before independence in 1965, Singapore had a GDP per capita of $511, then the third highest in East Asia.[49] After independence, foreign direct investment and a state-led drive for industrialisation based on plans by Goh Keng Swee and Albert Winsemius created a modern economy.[50] As a result of global recession and a slump in the technology sector, the country's GDP contracted by 2.2% in 2001. The Economic Review Committee was set up in December 2001 and recommended several policy changes to revitalise the economy. Singapore has since recovered, largely due to improvements in the world economy; the economy grew by 8.3% in 2004, 6.4% in 2005,[51] and 7.9% in 2006.[52] After a contraction of -0.8% in 2009, the economy recovered in 2010 with a GDP growth of 14.5%.
Singapore possesses the world's tenth largest foreign reserves.[53][54] Singapore's external trade is of higher value than its GDP, making trade one of the most vital components of the economy. Over ten free trade agreements have been signed with other countries and regions.[55] Singapore's economy was ranked the world's most open in 2009,[56] competitive[57] and innovative.[58][59] Singapore is rated the most business-friendly economy in the world.[60][61] The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar, issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.[62] It is interchangeable with the Brunei dollar.[63]
Most work in Singapore is in the service sector, which employed around 2,151,400 people out of 3,102,500 jobs in December 2010. Around 64.2% of jobs were held by locals. The percentage of unemployed economically active people above age 15 is about 2%.[64] Poverty levels are low compared to other countries in the region. The government provides cheap housing and financial assistance to poorer people.[65] Singapore has the world's highest percentage of millionaire households, with 15.5 percent of all households owning at least one million US dollars.[66]
Tourism forms a large part of the economy, and 10.2 million tourists visited the country in 2007.[67] To attract more tourists, in 2005 the government legalised gambling and allowed two casino resorts (called Integrated Resorts) to be developed.[68] Singapore is promoting itself as a medical tourism hub: about 200,000 foreigners seek medical care there each year, and Singapore medical services aim to serve one million foreign patients annually by 2012 and generate USD 3 billion in revenue.
RELEGION
Buddhism is the most widely practised religion in Singapore, with 33% of the resident population declaring themselves adherents at the most recent census. The next largest religions, in order of size, are Christianity, Islam, Taoism and Hinduism. The proportion of Christians, Taoists and non-religious people increased between 2000 and 2010 by about 3% each, while the proportion of Buddhists decreased. Other faiths remained largely stable in their share of the population.[98]There are monasteries and Dharma centres from all three major traditions of Buddhism in Singapore: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Most Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese and are of the Mahayana tradition.[99] Chinese Mahayana is the most predominant form of Buddhism in Singapore, with missionaries from Taiwan and China for several decades. However, Thailand's Theravada Buddhism has seen growing popularity amongst the people (not only the Chinese) in the past decade. Soka Gakkai International, a Japanese Buddhist organisation, is practised by many people in Singapore, but by mostly those of Chinese descent. Tibetan Buddhism has also made slow inroads into the country in recent years
LANGUAGES
Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil.[102] English is the first language of the nation and is the language of business, government and medium of instruction in schools.[103][104] The Singapore constitution and all laws are written in English.[105] 80% of Singaporeans are literate in English as either their first or second language. Chinese Mandarin is the next commonly spoken, followed by Malay and Tamil.[98][106] Singaporean English is based on British English,[107] and forms of English spoken range from Standard English to a pidgin known as Singlish. Singlish is heavily discouraged by the government.[108] According to the 2010 official census, nearly one in three Singaporeans speak English as their home language.[101]
Chinese is the most common home language, used by about half of all Singaporeans.[101] Singaporean Mandarin is the most common version of Chinese in the country,[109] with 1.2 million using it as their home language. Nearly half a million speak other Chinese languages (which the government describes as "dialects"), mainly Hokkien, Teochew, and Cantonese, as their home language, although the use of these is declining in favour of Mandarin and English.[110]Malay is the "national language", a ceremonial rather than functional designation to reflect the country's history. It is used in the national anthem "Majulah Singapura"[113] and in military commands. Today Malay is generally spoken within the Singaporean Malay community, with only 16.8% of Singaporeans literate in Malay[114] and only 12% using it as their home language.[101] Bazaar Malay was historically the lingua franca in Singapore, until it was eclipsed by English, especially after independence.[115] Around 0.1 million or 3% of Singaporeans speak Tamil as their home language.[101] Even though only Tamil has official status, there have been no attempts to discourage the use or spread of other Indian languages.
EDUCATIONS
Education for primary, secondary, and tertiary levels is mostly supported by the state. All institutions, private and public, must be registered with the Ministry of Education.[117] English is the language of instruction in all public schools[118] and all subjects are taught and examined in English except for the "Mother Tongue" language paper. While "Mother Tongue" generally refers to the first language internationally, in Singapore's education system it is used to refer to the second language as English is the first language.Students who have been abroad for a while or who struggle with their "Mother Tongue" language are allowed to take a simpler syllabus or drop the subject.Education takes place in three stages: "Primary education", "Secondary education", and "Pre-university education", of which only the Primary level is compulsory. Students begin with six years of primary school, which is made up of a four-year foundation course and a two-year orientation stage. The curriculum is focused on the development of English, the mother tongue, and maths.[124] There are four standard subjects taught to all students, English, the mother tongue, mathematics, and science.[125] Secondary school lasts from four to five years, and is divided between "Special", "Express", "Normal (Academic)", and "Normal (Technical)" streams within each school, depending on a student's ability level.[126] The basic coursework breakdown is the same as in the primary level, although classes are much more specialised.[127] Pre-university education takes place over two to three years at senior schools mostly called Junior Colleges.[128] Some schools have a degree of freedom in their curriculum, and are known as autonomous schools. These exist from the secondary education level.
National examinations are standardised across all schools, with a test taken after each stage of school. After the first six years of education, students take the Primary School Leaving Examination,[124] which determines their placement at secondary school. At the end of the secondary stage, GCE 'O' Level exams are taken; at the end of the following pre-university stage, the GCE 'A' Level exams are taken. Of all non-student Singaporeans aged 15 and above, 18% have no educational qualifications at all while 45% have the Primary School Leaving Examination as their highest qualification. 15% have the GCE 'O' Level as their highest qualification and 13% have a degree.
one of my friends going there...lucky her! :)
picture : credits to google
information : credits to wikipedia
Labels: 2011
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