Country name: Republic of Singapore

Capital: Singapore

Location: An island and islets in the heart of Southeast Asia, between Malaysia and Indonesia

Area: 682.7 sq km

Highest point: Bukit Timah Hill at 163.36m

Climate: Tropical. It’s hot and sunny all year, with two monsoon seasons (December to March and June to September) bringing heavy rains

Government: Parliamentary republic

Gross Domestic Product: S$257 billion (Statistics Singapore, 2008)

Major industries: Electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, life sciences, entrepot trade

Currency: Singapore Dollar

Population: 4,984,000 (Statistics Singapore, 2009)

Median age: 36.7 years

Life expectancy: 81 years

Population growth rate: 1.7%

Ethnic groups: Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, Other races 1.4%

Language: The official language is Malay, but English is the key language of communication. Most Singaporeans speak and write a second language, usually Mandarin, Tamil or Malay. Several Chinese and Indian dialects are also spoken.

Religions: Buddhism 42.5%, Islam 14.9%, Christianity 9.8%, Taoism 8.5%, Catholicism 4.8%, Hinduism 4%, other religions 0.7%, none 14.8% (Statistics Singapore, Census of Population 2000)

Literacy: Over 90% of the population above 15 years of age can read and write

Communications: Excellent facilities and services, including 3G wireless service launched in 2005, and a 122% household broadband penetration rate (Infocomm Development Authority, July 2009)

International country code: +65

Source: www.sg