<text><span class="style42"></span><span class="style12">SINGAPORE</span><span class="style14"></span><span class="style42">Official name:</span><span class="style13"> Hsing-chia pΓÇÖo Kung-ho Kuo (Chinese) or Republik Singapura (Malay) or Republic of Singapore</span><span class="style42">Member of: </span><span class="style13">UN, ASEAN, Commonwealth, Apec</span><span class="style42">Area: </span><span class="style13">639 km2 (247 sq mi)</span><span class="style42">Population: </span><span class="style13">2876000 (1993 est)</span><span class="style42">Capital: </span><span class="style13">Singapore 2876000 (1993 est)</span><span class="style42">Languages: </span><span class="style13">Chinese (77%), Malay (14%), Tamil (5%), English ΓÇô all official</span><span class="style42">Religions: </span><span class="style13">Buddhist and Daoist (54%), Sunni Islam (15%), various Christian Churches (13%), Hinduism</span><span class="style42">GOVERNMENT</span><span class="style13">The 81 members of Parliament are elected from single- and multi-member constituencies by universal adult suffrage for five years. The President ΓÇô who is elected by Parliament for four years ΓÇô appoints a Prime Minister who commands a parliamentary majority. The PM, in turn, appoints a Cabinet which is responsible to Parliament. The constitution is to be revised in 1995 to create an executive presidency.</span><span class="style42">GEOGRAPHY</span><span class="style13">Singapore is a low-lying island ΓÇô with 56 islets ΓÇô joined to the Malay peninsula by causeway. </span><span class="style42">Climate: </span><span class="style13">The climate is tropical with monsoon rains from December to March.</span><span class="style42">ECONOMY</span><span class="style13">Singapore relies on imports for its flourishing manufacturing industries (electronics, oil refining, rubber processing, food processing) and entrep├┤t trade. Finance and tourism are important. Singapore has the second highest standard of living in Asia. </span><span class="style42">Currency: </span><span class="style13">Singaporean dollar.</span><span class="style42">HISTORY</span><span class="style13">Singapore was a trading center until destroyed by the Javanese in the 14th century. The city was revived by Sir Stamford Raffles for the British East India Company (1819), and developed rapidly as a port for shipping MalayaΓÇÖs tin and rubber. It acquired a cosmopolitan population and became a strategic British base. Occupied by the Japanese (1942ΓÇô45), it achieved self-government (1959), and joined (1963) and left (1965) the Federation of Malaysia. After independence it became wealthy under the strong rule of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (1923ΓÇô ; PM 1965ΓÇô91).</span></text>