Singapore

Singapore is an island city-state in Southeast Asia, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and about 137 km (85 mi) north of the equator. Besides the main island it takes in dozens of smaller islands, and land reclamation is set to grow its area from about 580 km² in the 1960s to 770 km² in the 2030s. The four official languages are English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, with Malay as the national language.

In early centuries the port of Temasek traded under a series of maritime empires. Stamford Raffles founded a British trading post here in 1819, and a treaty of 1824 placed the whole island under British rule; from 1867 it was run directly as part of the Straits Settlements. Japan occupied Singapore in 1942, and after 1945 it returned to Britain as a Crown colony. Self-government came in 1959, when the People's Action Party won under Lee Kuan Yew. Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963 and became an independent state on 9 August 1965. With no natural resources, it grew into one of the Four Asian Tigers.

The parliamentary republic follows the Westminster model, with a president as head of state and a legal system based on common law. Elections are held regularly, yet the People's Action Party has governed without a break since 1959. Financial services, manufacturing and oil refining lead the economy, and refined petroleum, integrated circuits and computers top the exports. Singapore Airlines was founded in 1972 and Changi Airport opened in 1981, while the port grew into one of the busiest anywhere. Most households live in public flats built by the Housing and Development Board.

The Singapore Botanic Gardens became the country's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and the Merlion statue are among its landmarks, and in 2008 the Marina Bay Street Circuit staged the first night race in Formula One. Hawker centres sell Chinese, Malay and Tamil food side by side, and Hainanese chicken rice counts as the national dish. Singlish, a colloquial English, is widely spoken despite official campaigns against it.