Singapore
Singapore is one of the most densely populated countries in the
world. The annual growth rate for 2007 was 4.3%, including resident
foreigners. Singapore has a varied linguistic, cultural, and
religious heritage. Malay is the national language, but Chinese,
English, and Tamil also are official languages. English is the
language of administration and also is widely used in the
professions, businesses, and schools.
The government has mandated that English be the primary language
used at all levels of the school systems, and it aims to provide at
least 10 years of education for every child. In 2007, primary and
secondary school students totaled about 534,737, or 11.7% of the
entire population. In 2007, enrollment at public universities was
65,746 (full-time/part-time) and 72,379 at the polytechnics. The
Institute of Technical Education for basic technical and commerce
skills has 23,465 students. The country's literacy rate is 95.7%.
Singapore generally allows religious freedom, although religious
groups are subject to government scrutiny, and some religious sects
are restricted or banned. Almost all Malays are Muslim; other
Singaporeans are Taoists, Buddhists, Confucianists, Christians,
Hindus, or Sikhs. |
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Although Singapore's history dates from the 11th century, the island
was little known to the West until the 19th century, when in 1819,
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived as an agent of the British East
India Company. In 1824, the British purchased Singapore Island, and
by 1825, the city of Singapore had become a major port, with trade
exceeding that of Malaya's Malacca and Penang combined. In 1826,
Singapore, Penang, and Malacca were combined as the Straits
Settlements to form an outlying residency of the British East India
Company; in 1867, the Straits Settlements were made a British Crown
Colony, an arrangement that continued until 1946.
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the advent of steamships
launched an era of prosperity for Singapore as transit trade
expanded throughout Southeast Asia. In the 20th century, the
automobile industry's demand for rubber from Southeast Asia and the
packaging industry's need for tin helped make Singapore one of the
world's major ports.
In 1921, the British constructed a naval base, which was soon
supplemented by an air base. But the Japanese captured the island in
February 1942, and it remained under their control until September
1945, when the British returned.
In 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved; Penang and Malacca
became part of the Malayan Union, and Singapore became a separate
British Crown Colony. In 1959, Singapore became self-governing, and,
in 1963, it joined the newly independent Federation of Malaya,
Sabah, and Sarawak--the latter two former British Borneo
territories--to form Malaysia.
Indonesia adopted a policy of "confrontation" against the new
federation, charging that it was a "British colonial creation," and
severed trade with Malaysia. The move particularly affected
Singapore, since Indonesia had been the island's second-largest
trading partner. The political dispute was resolved in 1966, and
Indonesia resumed trade with Singapore.
After a period of friction between Singapore and the central
government in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore separated from Malaysia on
August 9, 1965, and became an independent republic. |
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