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NAVIGATION
Republic of Singapore
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore |
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Government type:
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parliamentary republic |
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Capital:
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Singapore |
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Administrative divisions:
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none |
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Independence:
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9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 9 August (1965) |
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Constitution:
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3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution) |
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Legal system:
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based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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21 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 28 November 1990) and Deputy Prime Ministers Brig. Gen. (Ret.) LEE Hsien Loong (since 28 November 1990) and TAN Keng Yam Tony (since 1 August 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 28 August 1999 (next to be held by August 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN elected president unopposed |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral Parliament (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; the losing opposition candidate who came closest to winning a seat may be appointed as a "nonconstituency" member
elections: last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held 25 June 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 75.3% (in contested constituencies), other 24.7%; seats by party - PAP 82, WP 1, SDA 1 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals |
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Political parties and leaders:
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governing party: People's Action Party or PAP [GOH Chok Tong]; opposition parties: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [leader NA]; National Solidarity Party or NSP [Steve CHIA]; Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong] (includes SPP, PKMS, NSP, SJP); Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore Justice Party or SJP [leader NA]; Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS [Muhammad ALI Aman]; Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong]; Workers' Party or WP [LOW Thia Kiang] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, ESCAP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador CHAN Heng Chee
consulate(s): New York consulate(s) general: San Francisco FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876 telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100 chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Franklin L. LAVIN
embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508 mailing address: PSC Box 470, FPO AP 96534-0001 telephone: [65] 6476-9100 FAX: [65] 6476-9232 |
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Flag description:
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two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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Singapore, a highly developed and successful free market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It was hard hit in 2001-2002 by the global recession and the slump in the technology sector. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle than the current export-led model but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $105 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2.2% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $24,000 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: NEGL%
industry: 33% services: 67% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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-0.4% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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2.19 million (2000) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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financial, business, and other services 35%, manufacturing 21%, construction 13%, transportation and communication 9%, other 22% |
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Unemployment rate:
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4.6% (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $27.9 billion
expenditures: $19.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.4 billion (FY00 est.) |
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Industries:
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electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, entrepot trade, biotechnology |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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-9.8% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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30.48 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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28.35 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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700,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA |
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Oil - imports:
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NA |
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Agriculture - products:
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rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables; poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish |
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Exports:
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$127 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels |
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Exports - partners:
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Malaysia 17.0%, US 14.9%, Hong Kong 8.9%, Japan 7.0%, China 5.3%, Taiwan 4.8%, Thailand 4.4%, South Korea 4.1%, Netherlands 3.4%, Germany 3.2% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$113 billion (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
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Imports - partners:
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Malaysia 17.1%, US 13.4%, Japan 11.8%, China 7.2%, Indonesia 6.1%, Thailand 4.4%, Taiwan 4.3%, South Korea 3.5%, Germany 3.2%, Saudi Arabia 3.1% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$8.2 billion (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$NA |
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Currency:
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Singapore dollar (SGD) |
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Currency code:
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SGD |
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Exchange rates:
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Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.7906 (2002), 1.7917 (2001), 1.724 (2000), 1.695 (1999), 1.6736 (1998) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 April - 31 March |