|RNature and climate:|N Singapore consists of the main island Singapore and about 50 small islands of which about half are inhabited. The islands are located by the southern tip of the Malay peninsula and are low.
Most of the islands are swampy vegetated by mangrove.
Tropical climate with an average temperature of 27°C around the year.
Percipitation slightly more than 2000 mm.
|RPeople:|N 75% Chinese, 15% Malayan and 6% Indian.
|REconomy:|N Agriculture is of minor importance in this the 5th most densely populated country of the world. The most important crops are natural rubber, cocofruits, fruits and vegetables. Singapore is self-sufficient in pork, poultry and eggs, but most other foodstuffs must be imported.
Manufacturing is well developed with big shipyards, oilrefineries and an extensive manufacturing of electronics.
The Singapore harbour is the worlds fifth with an extensive transit trade.
Singapore is a financial centre for South East Asia and tourism is extensive.
|RHistory:|N The archipelago was bought from the Sultan of Jahore by Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles in 1819. The sovereignty of Great Britain was recognized in 1824.
With its excellent location by the Straits of Malacca its importance as trade and transitharbour grew rapidly.
Before World War II it was strongly fortified and the harbour became the most important naval base for the UK in South East Asia, but it fell for Japan in 1942 and was recaptured in 1945.
In 1959 Singapore became a self-ruling parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth and in 1963 the independent Malaysian federation was formed by Singapore, Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah, but the Chinese majority in Singapore was not pleased by the Malayan dominance in the federation. The independent republic of Singapore was proclaimed in 1965.
Singapore has had a calm and steady development in economics and politics since independence, which have given the people high standards of living.
From 1959 to 1990 Lee Kuan Yew was prime minister, which makes him the prime minister that has been in office longest in the world.
