Portal:Singapore

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Welcome to the Singapore Portal

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north.

Singapore's history dates back at least eight hundred years, having been a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to British control as a separate Crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and, in 1963, became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers.

As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest PPP-adjusted GDP per capita in the world. It is also identified as a tax haven. Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers. Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world. It has the third highest population density of any country in the world, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the common language, with exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

Singapore is a parliamentary republic in the Westminster tradition of unicameral parliamentary government, and its legal system is based on common law. While the country is de jure a multi-party democracy with free elections, the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields widespread control and political dominance. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, and holds a supermajority in Parliament. One of the five founding members of ASEAN, Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council Secretariat, and is the host city of many international conferences and events. Singapore is also a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations. (Full article...)

More about Singapore...

View new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

The Changi Murals are a set of five paintings of biblical themes painted by Stanley Warren, a British bombardier and prisoner-of-war (POW) interned at the Changi Prison, during the Japanese occupation of Singapore in the Second World War. His murals were completed under difficult conditions of sickness, limited materials and hardships. With a message of universal love and forgiveness, they helped to uplift the spirits of the POWs and the sick when they sought refuge in the prison chapel.

After the war, the walls of the chapel were distempered over, hiding the murals from view. They were forgotten until their rediscovery in 1958. Due to their historical significance, an international search was conducted to locate the original painter to help in restoring the damaged and faded murals. Warren was eventually found in 1959 and, after much persuasion, agreed to assist in the restoration project. He made three trips to Singapore between 1963 and 1988 to restore his former paintings. Because of his advanced age, only four of the original murals were fully restored. In the 1990s, the former site of the murals was gazetted as a Heritage Site by the National Heritage Board of Singapore. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture

Credit: Someformofhuman (28 March 2010)

Saint Joseph's Church on Victoria Street during a Good Friday evening procession. Read more...

More selected pictures

General images

The following are images from various Singapore-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 2The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 3Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 41888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 5The Mao Kun map from Wubei Zhi which is based on the early 15th century maps of Zheng He showing Temasek (淡馬錫) at the top left, and Long Ya Men (龍牙門) on the right panel. (from History of Singapore)
Image 6Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 7A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 8View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 9Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. (from History of Singapore)
Image 10Traffic in Singapore, 1981. Prior to the introduction of the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) in 1990, vehicles per capita in Singapore was the highest in ASEAN. (from History of Singapore)
Image 11The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 12Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)
Image 13Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 14Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 15Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 161955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 17The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 18A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 19Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 20Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 21Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 22The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 23Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 24Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 25The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 26Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 27The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 28Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 29Chinese community in Singapore carrying the Flag of the Republic of China (written Long live the motherland) to celebrate the victory, also reflected the Chinese identity issues at that time. (from History of Singapore)
Image 30St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 31Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 32Restored shophouses running along a street in Chinatown, which reflects the Victorian architecture of buildings built in Singapore during the earlier colonial period, with styles such as the painted ladies. (from History of Singapore)
Image 33Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 34A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 35Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 36The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 37The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 38Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 39Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 40Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 41Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)

Selected biography - show another

Yip as the flag bearer for Singapore at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Parade of Nations

Yip Pin Xiu PJG PLY (born 10 January 1992) is a Singaporean backstroke swimmer. She is a six-time Paralympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion, with two world records in the 50 m backstroke S2 and the 100 m backstroke S2. Yip is Singapore's most decorated Paralympian and Southeast Asia's most decorated swimming Paralympian.

She has Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome and competes in the S2 category for the physically impaired. Since 2005, she has won medals in international competitions such as the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games, Japan Paralympic Swimming Championships and International German Paralympic Swimming Championships. At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, she won a gold medal in the 50 metres backstroke and a silver medal in the 50 metres freestyle, setting world records in both events. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, she won a gold medal in the 100 metres S2 backstroke, setting a world record for that event, and another for her 50 m split. She retained her gold medals for these two events in 2020 and 2024 in a historic three-peat. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
Ho Yuen Hoe Gan Eng Seng Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo Teresa Hsu Fandi Ahmad Denise Phua Li Jiawei Glenn Knight Laurentia Tan Tao Li Neila Sathyalingam Walter Woon Han Sai Por Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan Xiaxue

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that an artwork in Singapore's Outram Park MRT station represents the state of mind of commuters through 69 engravings of surreal human forms?
... that gynaecologist Oon Chiew Seng, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2013, was the founding chairperson of the first dementia home in Singapore?
... that Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son Lee Hsien Loong donated the "unsolicited discounts" from their controversial purchase of condominium units to charity?
... that Chinese Garden MRT station did not originally have access to the Chinese Garden?
... that a number of bus drivers who participated in a strike were unaware that it was illegally held?
... that Wee Toon Boon remained a member of the Parliament of Singapore even after he began serving a prison sentence for corruption?

edit

In this month

8 December 1941: The first air raid by the Japanese at 04:15, marking the start of the Battle of Singapore.
11–13 December 1950: The Maria Hertogh riots breaks out, killing 18 people.
19 December 1997: Silkair Flight 185 crashes, killing all 185 passengers aboard.
22 December 1965: Singapore becomes a republic after the Constitutional Amendment Act is passed.
27 December 2001: Singapore experiences its first typhoon, Tropical Storm Vamei.

More Anniversaries...

edit

More did you know - show different entries

... that people making speeches at Speakers' Corner in Singapore (pictured) must use one of Singapore's four official languages – English, Malay, Mandarin or Tamil – or a related dialect?

... that the Bukit Timah Monkey Man is a Singapore cryptid said to inhabit the centrally forested Bukit Timah area?

... that under the Vandalism Act of Singapore, a person convicted for the first time of vandalism by defacing property using an indelible substance such as paint must be sentenced to caning?

... that Runme Shaw, philanthropist and founder of the Shaw Organisation, started his Singapore movie business in a makeshift timber cinema known as The Empire in 1927?

... that The Float@Marina Bay, a venue of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, hosts the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games as the world's largest floating stage?

More...

edit

Selected panorama

Credit: Sengkeng (12 November 2006)

Sungei Serangoon (Malay for Serangoon River; Chinese: 实龙岗河) is a river in the north-eastern part of Singapore. The 6-kilometre river starts as a canal near Tampines Road, and flows through Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol, Lorong Halus and Pasir Ris, before emptying into the Serangoon Harbour. The river is also known as the Serangoon Estuary.

More selected panoramas • Read more...

edit

Singapore topics

edit

Related portals

Southeast Asia

Other Countries

edit

Tasks

Things you can do

Check for latest announcements and updates at the WikiProject Singapore
Make yourself known as a Singaporean Wikipedian
Create or improve on the articles listed in the to do list
Share with us your level of proficiency in Singlish by putting one of the 4 Singlish Babel tags (1 2 3 4) onto your user page
(More...)