Did You Know?
Fast Facts
There are only three city - states in the world - Singapore, the Vatican City and Monaco.
The name Singapore is derived from the Malay words for "lion" and "city". A Malayan Prince coined the name in the 13th century. He most likely mistook a lion for a Malayan Tiger.
Singlish is an English based Creole language spoken in Singapore. It includes words from English, Malay, Hokkien, Cantonese, Tamil, Teochew, Punjabi and more. It is not one of the official languages but it does show Singapore's multiculturalism.
Sky scrapers in Singapore? Yes, but they cannot be taller than 280 meters! The island is so small no taller structure is far enough away from Changi Airport, limiting the height of all structures.
The total land area of Singapore is 718.3 sq km (275.8 sq mi). This is comprised of the mainland which measures 50 km (31 mi) east to west and 27 km (17 mi) north to south and 63 offshore islands. The most well known island is Sentosa. The coastline measures 193 km ( 120 mi).
The longest stretch of road is the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE), at 42.8 km.
Singaporeans are the fastest walkers on earth. On average we walk about 6.15 km and hour.
The largest fountain in the world, the Fountain of Wealth, is located at Suntec City.
Although Singapore is mostly urbanized there are more than 300 parks and 4 nature reserves. Many trees have been planted and flowering plants are abundant therefore Singapore is often called the "Garden City".
The climate is classified as a tropical rain forest climate with no distinct seasons. The lowest temperature ever recorded is 19.4 degrees Celsius, in 1934.
There are two connections to the state of Johor, Malaysia. The causeway in the north for road and rail traffic and a road bridge in the west. These connections are important economic links to Malaysia. Singapore is separated from Indonesia by the Singapore Strait and from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor.
Singapore has four official languages, English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. Malay is the National Language. English is the main working language and is used in schooling and business. It is truly an multicultural and multiracial society. The majority of the population is Chinese (75.9%). The balance is made up of Malay (12.1%), Indian (9.1%), Eurasians and more.
Religion in Singapore is as diverse as its population: Buddhism (33.0%), Christianity (18.3%), Islam (14.7%), Taoism (10.9%), Hinduism (5.1%), Other religions (0.7%), Not religious (17.0%).
Military service is compulsory for all male Singaporean citizens.
Singapore uses the metric system, even prepackaged eggs are sold in packages of 10 and not a dozen.
Keep left is the rule of the road.
The first land reclamation in Singapore was done in 1822. Today Singapore is 135 sq km, over 23% bigger than it was before any reclamation work.
The population of Singapore numbers approximately 5,535,000.
No chewing gum is allowed to be bought or sold in Singapore and there is a $700 fine for spitting out the gum on the streets.
There are 107 markets and hawker centers in Singapore.
As of 2013 about 80% of the population of Singapore lives in public housing which is managed by the Housing and Development Board otherwise known as HBD housing.