1987 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1987 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
tropical; hot, humid, rainy; no pronounced rainy or dry seasons; thunderstorms occur on 40% of all days (67% of days in April)
Comparative area
about three times the size of Washington, D. C. Coastline; 193 km
Environment
mostly urban and industrialized
Exclusive fishing zone
12 nm
Land use
4% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 5% forest and woodland; 84% other
Member of
ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Special notes
focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes
Terrain
lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve
Territorial sea
3 nm
Total area
580 km?; land area: 570 km?
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
76.4% Chinese, 14.9% Malay, 6.4% Indian, 2.3% other
Labor force
1,154,260 (June 1985); 30.2% services, 25.5% manufacturing, 23.5% trade, 10.1% transport and communication, 8.9% construction, 0.7% agriculture and fishing; 6.5% unemployment (June 1986)
Language
Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and English (official); Malay (national) Infant mortality rate; 8.3/1,000 (1985)
Life expectancy
men 69, women 74
Literacy
84.2%
Nationality
noun—Singaporean(s), adjective—Singapore
Organized labor
202,302, 17.5% of labor force (1985)
Population
2,616,236 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 1.18%
Religion
majority of Chinese are Buddhists or atheists; Malays nearly all Muslim; minorities include Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Taoists, Confucianists
Government
Branches
ceremonial President; executive power exercised by Prime Minister and Cabinet responsible to unicameral legislature (Parliament)
Capital
Singapore
Communists
200-500; Barisan Sosialis infiltrated by Communists
Elections
normally held every five years; last held 1984 Political parties and leaders: government—People’s Action Party (PAP), Lee Kuan Yew; opposition—Barisan Sosialis (BS), Dr. Lee Siew Choh; Workers’ Party (WP), J. B. Jeyaretnam; United People’s Front (UPF), Harbans Singh; Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Chiam See Tong; Communist Party illegal
Government leaders
WEE Kim Wee, President (since September 1985); LEE Kuan Yew, Prime Minister (since June 1959)
Legal system
based on English common law; constitution based on preindependence State of Singapore constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday
9 August
Official name
Republic of Singapore
Suffrage
amiversil and compulsory over age 20
Type
republic within Commonwealth
Voting strength
(1984 election) PAP won 77 of 79 seats in Parliament and received 63% of the vote; WP and SDP won one seat each; WP member of Parliament expelled November 1986
Economy
Agriculture
occupies a position of minor importance in the economy, self-sufficient in pork (but pig farming outlawed as of 1985), poultry, and eggs; must import much of its other food requirements; major crops—rubber, copra, fruit and vegetables
Electric power
3,486,000 kW capacity; 10,080 million kWh produced, 3,900 kWh per capita (1986)
Exports
$22.8 billion (f.0.b., 1985); manufactured goods, petroleum, rubber, electronics
Fishing
catch 22,76] metric tons, imports—102,189 metric tons, exports 56,841 metric tons (1985)
GDP
$17.25 billion (1985 est.), $6,740 per capita; (1985 est.) real growth rate 1.9% (1986 est.)
Imports
$26.3 billion (c.i.f., 1985); major retained imports—capital equipment, manufactured goods, petroleum
Major industries
petroleum refining, electronics, oil drilling equipment, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, entrepot trade, financial services, biotechnology
Major trade partners
exports—US, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, FRG; imports—Japan, US, Malaysia,