A Malay trading port known as Temasek existed on the island of Singapore by the 14th century. The settlement changed hands several times in the ensuing centuries and was eventually burned in the 17th century and fell into obscurity. The British founded modern Singapore as a trading colony on the site in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but was ousted two years later and became independent. Singapore subsequently became one of the world’s most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world’s busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP among the highest globally.
land: 709.2 sq km
water: 10 sq km
exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice
lowest point: Singapore Strait 0 m
arable land: 0.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 3.3% (2018 est.)
other: 95.7% (2018 est.)
5,975,383 (2023 est.)
noun: Singaporean(s)
adjective: Singapore
Chinese 74.2%, Malay 13.7%, Indian 8.9%, other 3.2% (2021 est.)
note: data represent population by self-identification; the population is divided into four categories: Chinese, Malay (includes indigenous Malays and Indonesians), Indian (includes Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, or Sri Lankan), and other ethnic groups (includes Eurasians, Caucasians, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese)
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%; note - data represent language most frequently spoken at home (2020 est.)
major-language sample(s):
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)
世界概況 – 不可缺少的基本消息來源 (Mandarin)
Buddhist 31.1%, Christian 18.9%, Muslim 15.6%, Taoist 8.8%, Hindu 5%, other 0.6%, none 20% (2020 est.)
Singapore has one of the lowest total fertility rates (TFR) in the world – an average of 1.15 children born per woman – and a rapidly aging population. Women’s expanded educations, widened aspirations, and a desire to establish careers has contributed to delayed marriage and smaller families. Most married couples have only one or two children in order to invest more in each child, including the high costs of education. In addition, more and more Singaporeans, particularly women, are staying single. Factors contributing to this trend are a focus on careers, long working hours, the high cost of living, and long waits for public housing. With fertility at such a low rate and rising life expectancy, the proportion of the population aged 65 or over is growing and the youth population is shrinking. Singapore is projected to experience one of the largest percentage point increases in the elderly share of the population at 21% between 2019 and 2050, according to the UN. The working-age population (aged 15-64) will gradually decrease, leaving fewer workers to economically support the elderly population.Migration has played a key role in Singapore’s development. As Singapore’s economy expanded during the 19th century, more and more Chinese, Indian, and Malay labor immigrants arrived. Most of Singapore’s pre-World War II population growth was a result of immigration. During World War II, immigration came to a halt when the Japanese occupied the island but revived in the postwar years. Policy was restrictive during the 1950s and 1960s, aiming to protect jobs for residents by reducing the intake of low-skilled foreign workers and focusing instead on attracting professionals from abroad with specialist skills. Consequently, the nonresident share of Singapore’s population plummeted to less than 3%.As the country industrialized, however, it loosened restrictions on the immigration of manual workers. From the 1980s through the 2000s, the foreign population continued to grow as a result of policies aimed at attracting foreign workers of all skill levels. More recently, the government has instituted immigration policies that target highly skilled workers. Skilled workers are encouraged to stay and are given the opportunity to become permanent residents or citizens. The country, however, imposes restrictions on unskilled and low-skilled workers to ensure they do not establish roots, including prohibiting them from bringing their families and requiring employers to pay a monthly foreign worker levy and security bond. The country has also become increasingly attractive to international students. The growth of the foreign-born population has continued to be rapid; as of 2015, the foreign-born composed 46% of the total population. At the same time, growing numbers of Singaporeans are emigrating for education and work experience in highly skilled sectors such finance, information technology, and medicine. Increasingly, the moves abroad are permanent.
0-14 years: 14.82% (male 458,019/female 427,364)
15-64 years: 71.49% (male 2,148,471/female 2,123,102)
65 years and over: 13.7% (2023 est.) (male 379,373/female 439,054)
total dependency ratio: 35.4
youth dependency ratio: 16.2
elderly dependency ratio: 19.1
potential support ratio: 5.2 (2021 est.)
total: 38.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 37.7 years
female: 40.1 years
0.9% (2023 est.)
8.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
4.2 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
4.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
most of the urbanization is along the southern coast, with relatively dense population clusters found in the central areas
urban population: 100% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.74% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
6.081 million SINGAPORE (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
30.5 years (2015 est.)
note: data represents median age
7 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 1.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 1.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 1.4 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 86.5 years (2023 est.)
male: 83.8 years
female: 89.3 years
1.17 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.57 (2023 est.)
NA
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: NA
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: NA
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
6.1% of GDP (2020)
2.46 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
2.5 beds/1,000 population (2017)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: NA
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: NA
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
6.1% (2016)
total: 1.81 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 1.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.27 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.24 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 16.5% (2020 est.)
male: 28% (2020 est.)
female: 5% (2020 est.)
NA
54.3% (2023 est.)
women married by age 18: 0.1% (2022 est.)
2.8% of GDP (2021 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.5%
male: 98.9%
female: 96.1% (2019)
total: 17 years
male: 16 years
female: 17 years (2020)
water pollution; industrial pollution; limited natural freshwater resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; air pollution; deforestation; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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
agricultural land: 1% (2018 est.)
arable land: 0.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 3.3% (2018 est.)
other: 95.7% (2018 est.)
urban population: 100% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.74% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 13.33 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 37.54 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 4.4 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 7,704,300 tons (2017 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 4,699,623 tons (2015 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 61% (2015 est.)
municipal: 300 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 340 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
600 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
high-income, service-based Southeast Asian economy; renowned for financial markets and Asian Infrastructure Exchange; business-driven regulations; low unemployment; electronics, oil, and chemicals exporter; continuing education investment
$578.254 billion (2021 est.)
$537.341 billion (2020 est.)
$560.566 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
7.61% (2021 est.)
-4.14% (2020 est.)
1.1% (2019 est.)
$106,000 (2021 est.)
$94,500 (2020 est.)
$98,300 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$372.088 billion (2019 est.)
2.3% (2021 est.)
-0.18% (2020 est.)
0.57% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: AAA (2003)
Moody’s rating: Aaa (2002)
Standard & Poors rating: AAA (1995)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 0% (2017 est.)
industry: 24.8% (2017 est.)
services: 75.2% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 35.6% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 10.9% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 24.8% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 2.8% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 173.3% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -149.1% (2017 est.)
poultry, eggs, vegetables, pork, duck meat, spinach, pig offals, bird eggs, pig fat, cabbages
electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, biomedical products, scientific instruments, telecommunication equipment, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, entrepot trade
13.32% (2021 est.)
3.29 million (2021 est.)
note: excludes non-residents
3.62% (2021 est.)
4.1% (2020 est.)
3.1% (2019 est.)
total: 9.1% (2021 est.)
male: 7%
female: 11.8%
NA
45.9 (2017)
on food: 6.9% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 1.9% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 27.5% (2017)
revenues: $59.974 billion (2020 est.)
expenditures: $90.264 billion (2020 est.)
note: expenditures include both operational and development expenditures
-0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
153.41% of GDP (2020 est.)
128.31% of GDP (2019 est.)
110.73% of GDP (2018 est.)
note: Singapore’s public debt consists largely of Singapore Government Securities (SGS) issued to assist the Central Provident Fund (CPF), which administers Singapore’s defined contribution pension fund; special issues of SGS are held by the CPF, and are non-tradable; the government has not borrowed to finance deficit expenditures since the 1980s; Singapore has no external public debt
12.89% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
1 April - 31 March
$71.926 billion (2021 est.)
$58.139 billion (2020 est.)
$54.273 billion (2019 est.)
$733.782 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$627.442 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$658.127 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
China 16%, Hong Kong 16%, United States 8%, Malaysia 9%, Indonesia 5% (2021)
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, gold, packaged medicines, appliances, photo lab equipment (2021)
$609.28 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$517.967 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$550.209 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
China 16%, Malaysia 11%, United States 9%, Taiwan 7%, Japan 5%, Indonesia 5% (2019)
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, gold, gas turbines (2019)
$425.098 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$369.834 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$285.478 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$1,557,646,000,000 (2019 est.)
$1,528,177,000,000 (2018 est.)
Singapore dollars (SGD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
1.343 (2021 est.)
1.38 (2020 est.)
1.364 (2019 est.)
1.349 (2018 est.)
1.381 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 12.24 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 50,742,380,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 571 million kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 96.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 1.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 2.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 423,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 1,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 424,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 1.448 million bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 13,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 1,121,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
755,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
1.82 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
2.335 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 13,396,282,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 550.818 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
imports: 14,727,709,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
238.983 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 1.588 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 211.115 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 26.28 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
639.951 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 4 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 230
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 40,401,515 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 5,194,900,000 (2018) mt-km
9V
9 (2021)
9
civil airports: 0
military airports: 2
joint use (civil-military) airports: 3
other airports: 4
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
3,220 km domestic gas (2014), 1,122 km cross-border pipelines (2017), 8 km refined products (2013) (2013)
total: 3,500 km (2017)
paved: 3,500 km (2017) (includes 164 km of expressways)
total: 3,227 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 574, container ship 542, general cargo 99, oil tanker 633, other 1,379
major seaport(s): Singapore
container port(s) (TEUs): Singapore (37,470,000) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Singapore
manyapis