Singapore

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
A Malay trading port known as Temasek existed on the island of Singapore by the 14th century. The settlement changed hands several times and was eventually burned in the 17th century. In 1819, the British founded modern Singapore as a trading colony on the same site. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but was ousted two years later and became independent.

Geography

Area
total : 719 sq km
land: 709.2 sq km
water: 10 sq km

Climate
tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - northeastern monsoon (December to March) and southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms

Natural resources
fish, deepwater ports

People and Society

Population
total: 6,028,459 (2024 est.)

Ethnic groups
Chinese 74.2%, Malay 13.7%, Indian 8.9%, other 3.2% (2021 est.)

Languages
English (official) 48.3%, Mandarin (official) 29.9%, other Chinese dialects (includes Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka) 8.7%, Malay (official) 9.2%, Tamil (official) 2.5%, other 1.4% (2020 est.)

Religions
Buddhist 31.1%, Christian 18.9%, Muslim 15.6%, Taoist 8.8%, Hindu 5%, other 0.6%, none 20% (2020 est.)

Population growth rate
0.87% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
parliamentary republic

Capital
name: Singapore

Executive branch
chief of state: President THARMAN Shanmugaratnam (since 14 September 2023)
head of government: Prime Minister Lawrence WONG (since 15 May 2024)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador LUI Tuck Yew (since 30 June 2023)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Graham MAYER (since August 2025)

Economy

Economic overview
high-income, service-based economy; global financial hub; business-friendly policies and open to investment and trade; inflation easing but persistent in services; public investments in education, healthcare, and infrastructure; strong human capital development challenged by aging population

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$800.304 billion (2024 est.)
$766.662 billion (2023 est.)
$752.948 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$132,600 (2024 est.)
$129,600 (2023 est.)
$133,600 (2022 est.)

Exports
$978.597 billion (2024 est.)
$917.683 billion (2023 est.)
$947.355 billion (2022 est.)

Exports - partners
Hong Kong 13%, China 11%, USA 10%, Malaysia 9%, S. Korea 6% (2023)

Exports - commodities
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, machinery, vaccines, gold (2023)

Imports
$786.02 billion (2024 est.)
$728.5 billion (2023 est.)
$744.364 billion (2022 est.)

Imports - partners
China 15%, Malaysia 11%, Taiwan 11%, USA 10%, S. Korea 6% (2023)

Imports - commodities
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, gold, gas turbines (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.946, ranking it 13th out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 56th out of 158 countries tested with a score of 6.048. (more information)