G20germany

Country portrait

Singapore

General information

Singapore (the Republic of Singapore) is an island and city state, the smallest country, by surface area, in Southeast Asia. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Singapore comprises a main island, three larger and 58 smaller islands. It is situated on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and is separated from continental Asia by the Johor Strait.

Singapore has a population of some 5.54 million on a landmass of 718 square kilometres. Around 2.16 million of the population are foreigners (including 0.53 million "Permanent Residents", of whom 74.3% are Chinese, 13.3% Malays, 9.1% Indians, and 3.3% are other nationalities).

The capital of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore.

The country's official languages are Tamil, Malay, Mandarin and English. Malay is the national language, but English is the lingua franca and the language of trade and administration.

Economic data

Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, based on purchasing power parity (PPP): USD 87,855

Nominal GDP: USD 297 billion

Real change in GDP between 2010 and 2015: 24.8%

Gross national debt as a percentage of GDP: 112.0%

Percentage of women (aged 15–64) in gainful employment: 72.0% (in 2014)

Youth unemployment rate (15–24 year-olds): 6.6%

The national currency is the Singapore dollar (SGD)/exchange rate: 1 EUR = 1.5293 SGD (as at May 2017)

Additional information

Country information from the Federal Foreign Office

Website of the government of Singapore