Singapore

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-state in Southeast Asia.

A great deal of consensus exists that the term properly applies currently to Monaco, Singapore, and Vatican City.

Although its history stretches back millennia, modern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles as a trading post of the British East India Company.

The establishment of a British trading post in Singapore in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles led to its founding as a British colony in 1824.

The country is situated one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north.

Other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Although its history stretches back millennia, modern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles as a trading post of the British East India Company.

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS (6 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman, Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies (1811–1816) and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen (1818–1824), best known for his founding of modern Singapore and the British Malaya.

After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce.

The history of the Republic of Singapore began when Singapore left Malaysia and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965.

Singapore gained independence from the British Empire in 1963 by joining Malaysia along with Sabah and Sarawak, but separated two years later over ideological differences, becoming a fully sovereign state in 1965.

Singapore was one of the 14 states of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965.

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-state in Southeast Asia.

Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets.

Massive land reclamation work over the past centuries has removed many of Singapore's natural islands and islets and has created a few new ones.

The country is situated one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north.

The province is located on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, sharing water borders with Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

There are four official languages of Singapore: English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil; most Singaporeans are bilingual, with English serving as the nation's lingua franca, while Malay is the national language.

According to Constitution of Singapore, the national language of Singapore is Malay, which plays a symbolic role, as Malays are constitutionally recognized as the indigenous peoples of Singapore, and it is the government's duty to protect their language and heritage.

Singapore is placed highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 90%.

Non-citizens bear significantly higher costs of educating their children in Singapore government and government-aided schools.

The country is situated one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north.

It shares a land border with Thailand to the north and Singapore at the southernmost tip.

Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets.

Pulau Ujong (Malay: literally 'island at the end'), also known as Singapore Island or Mainland Singapore, is the main constituent island of Singapore.

There are four official languages of Singapore: English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil; most Singaporeans are bilingual, with English serving as the nation's lingua franca, while Malay is the national language.

Tamil is an official language in three countries: India, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

After the Company's collapse in 1858, the islands came under direct British control as a crown colony known as the Straits Settlements.

The Straits Settlements originally consisted of the four individual settlements of Penang, Singapore, Malacca, and Dinding.

Multiracialism has been enshrined in its constitution since independence, and continues to shape national policies in education, housing and politics.

The concept of race or ethnicity in contemporary Singapore emerged from British colonial attitudes towards race.

There are also numerous famous attractions within the city-state, notably Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Sentosa Island, Orchard Road, Jewel Changi Airport and the Singapore Zoo, which was ranked the best zoo in Asia.

Sentosa Island, also known as Sentosa, is an island located at the Central Region, Singapore.

There are also numerous famous attractions within the city-state, notably Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Sentosa Island, Orchard Road, Jewel Changi Airport and the Singapore Zoo, which was ranked the best zoo in Asia.

Orchard Road is a 2.2 kilometre-long major road in the Central Area of Singapore.

The city-state's historical district features dozens of landmarks such as The Esplanade, Fort Canning Hill, the National Gallery Singapore, Raffles Hotel and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.

The Downtown Core (, Pusat Bandar, டவுன்டவுன் கோர்) is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with many integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buildings in the world, with the most expensive standalone casino at Bayfront Avenue.

As of 2019, Singaporean citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 189 countries and territories, ranking the Singaporean passport 1st in the world, tied with Japan.

The Singapore passport is a travel document and passport issued to citizens and nationals of the Republic of Singapore.

There are four official languages of Singapore: English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil; most Singaporeans are bilingual, with English serving as the nation's lingua franca, while Malay is the national language.

Standard Singaporean Mandarin is one of the four official languages of Singapore.

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is the only tropical garden in the world to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 0-year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of Singapore's Orchard Road shopping district.

There are also numerous famous attractions within the city-state, notably Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Sentosa Island, Orchard Road, Jewel Changi Airport and the Singapore Zoo, which was ranked the best zoo in Asia.

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore, owned by the Las Vegas Sands corporation.

The country is situated one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north.

The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Thailand, and the southernmost tip of Myanmar (Kawthaung) as well as the city state Singapore, indigenous to or historically inhabited by the Malays, an Austronesian people.

The city-state's historical district features dozens of landmarks such as The Esplanade, Fort Canning Hill, the National Gallery Singapore, Raffles Hotel and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.

The National Gallery Singapore is an art museum located in the Downtown Core of Singapore.