Singapore is formally the Republic of Singapore, a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one level of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southerly tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the eastern and the Straits of Johor to the north.

The country’s territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and also islands, and also one outlying island, the combined location of which has increased by 25% considering that the country’s independence as a result of substantial land reclamation tasks.

It has the third biggest population density on the planet. With a multicultural population and acknowledging the need to respect cultural identifications of the major ethnic groups within the country, Singapore has 4 official languages; English, Malay, Mandarin, as well as Tamil.

 English is the lingua franca as well as many civil services are offered only in English. Multiracialism is preserved in the constitution and also remains to shape nationwide plans in education, housing, and politics.

Contemporary Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles as a trading post of the British Realm. In 1867, the nests in Southeast Asia were reorganised and also Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. Throughout the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942, and returned to British control as a different crown colony following Japan’s surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and also in 1963 entered into the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and also Sarawak.

Ideological distinctions, most notably the viewed infringement of the egalitarian “Malaysian Malaysia” political ideology led by Lee Kuan Yew into the other constituent entities of Malaysia– at the viewed expense of the bumiputera and the plans of Ketuanan Melayu– ultimately caused Singapore’s expulsion from the federation 2 years later on; Singapore became an independent sovereign nation in 1965.

After very early years of turbulence whilst lacking natural deposits as well as a hinterland, the nation swiftly developed to turn into one of the 4 Eastern Tigers based upon outside profession, ending up being a highly established country; it is rated joint-eleventh on the UN Human Development Index as well as has the second-highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the world.

Determined as a tax haven, Singapore is the only nation in Asia with a AAA sovereign score from all major rating firms, including the “Big Three”. It is a major financial and delivery center, and has actually continually been rated as one of one of the most costly cities to live in.