Singapore

LOCATION:Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia 

THE CAPITAL OF SINGAPORE IS THE CITY OF SINGAPORE. As a city-state, Singapore is both the country and itscapital. Singapore Island is the main island of Singapore, which is also called Pulau Ujong. This island isthe largest island of Singapore as well as the mostpopulous, with a population of over 5 million. SingaporeIsland has an area of about 710 square kilometers.

As of 2011, the population of Singapore is 5.18 million people, of whom 3.25 million (63%) are citizens while the rest (37%) are permanent residents or foreign workers. Twenty-three percent of Singaporean citizens were born outside Singapore i.e. foreign born citizens. There are half a million permanent residents in Singapore in 2011. The resident population does not take into account the 11 million transient visitors who visit Singapore annually

The national language of Singapore is Malay for historical reasons but the official languages are English, Chinese (Mandarin), Malay and Tamil. Eachcarries equal weight under our constitution. English iswidely used as the lingua franca amongst the differentcommunities. It is also the language ofadministration.

The politics of Singapore takes the form of a parliamentary representative democratic republic where by the President of Singapore is the head of state, the Prime Minister of Singapore is the head ofgovernment, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercisedby the cabinet. Cabinet has the general direction and control of the Government and is collectively responsible to Parliament.

THE CURRENCY OF SINGAPORE IS SINGAPOREAN DOLLAR

The Lion Head symbolises courage, strength and excellence, aswell as resilience in the face of challenges. It is in solid red againsta white background - the colours of the National Flag. Its manesfive partings represent the same five ideals that are embodied inthe five stars of the National Flag, namelydemocracy, peace, progress, justice and equality. Its tenaciousmien symbolises resolve to face and overcome any challenges.

Flag adopted in 3 december 1959. The red represents brotherhoodand equality, while the whiteshows purity and virtue. Themoon, a waxing crescent, is symbolic of the new nation, ayoung nation just beginning toreach its peak. The stars represent democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality, each ideals of the new Singapore nation

Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market economy. It has an open, pro-business environment, relatively corruption-free and transparent, stableprices, low tax rates (14.2% of GDP) compared to other developed economies, and one of the highest per-capitagross domestic products (GDP) in the world. Its innovative yet steadfast form of economics that combines economic planning of Singapore Economic Development Boardwith free-market has given it the nickname the Singapore Model. Singapores sovereignwealth fund Temasek Holdings is a large investor in the economy, holding majority stakes in several of the nations largest companies, such as Singapore Airlines, SingTel, ST Engineering and MediaCorp.

If construction costs are a traveler’s bag, then they’ll delight in seeing the Marina Bay Sands, a resort that cost US$5.7 billion to build, making it the world’s most expensive building when it opened in 2010. The Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort that has it all: a luxury hotel, restaurants, an endless collection of shops, a convention center that is one of the largest in Asia, theater, an ArtScience Museum and other entertainment centers. It also has an indoor skating rink made with synthetic ice.

The Singapore Flyer is a giant Ferris wheel, only with benefits, that only start with the stunning views below. Cars hold up to 28 people as they circle above the city. When it opened in 2008, it was the highest Ferris wheel in the world, reaching 165 meters (541 feet) up into the Singaporean sky. With advance notice, the Flyer can accommodate disabled guests in wheelchairs. Located on Marina Bay, the Flyer’s terminal has three floors of restaurants, shops and other services.

Resorts World Sentosa is a Singaporean destination unto itself. Located on an island off Singapore’s south coast, the property features hotels, restaurants, a casino, theme parks – in short, something for everyone no matter how old they are. With this location, attractions obviously center around the sea: Marine Life Park, Dolphin Island, a water park and an aquarium. Other attractions include Universal Studios Singapore and nightly entertainment. The casino offers a variety of table games sand 2,400 slot machines; be forewarned, it does enforce a dress code. The resort offers more than 60 dining options for hungry guests.

Orchard Road is the main shopping street of Singapore, regularly frequented by the locals as well as foreign tourists. Named after the fruit orchards that the road led to, Orchard Road is flanked by malls, numerous upmarket restaurants, coffee chains, cafés, nightclubs and hotels. It is also the site of the official residence of the President of Singapore, the Istana. The Christmas decorations along Orchard are famous and entirely over the top, with reindeers cavorting through palm trees and gingerbread houses topped with fake snow.