Country name:
conventional long form:
Republic of Singapore
conventional short form:
Singapore
local long form:
Republic of Singapore
local short form:
Singapore
etymology:
name derives from the Sanskrit words "singa" (lion) and "pura" (city) to describe the city-state's leonine symbol
Government type:
parliamentary republic
Capital:
name:
Singapore
geographic coordinates:
1 17 N, 103 51 E
time difference:
UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
none
Independence:
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
National holiday:
National Day, 9 August (1965)
Constitution:
history:
several previous; latest adopted 22 December 1965
(2018)
amendments:
proposed by Parliament; passage requires two-thirds majority vote in the second and third readings by the elected Parliament membership and assent by the president of the republic; passage of amendments affecting constitutional articles on fundamental liberties, the president, or constitutional amendment procedures also requires at least two-thirds majority vote in a referendum; amended many times, last in 2016
(2018)
Legal system:
English common law
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth:
no
citizenship by descent only:
at least one parent must be a citizen of Singapore
dual citizenship recognized:
no
residency requirement for naturalization:
10 years
Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal and compulsory
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President HALIMAH Yacob (since 14 September 2017); note - President TAN's term ended on 31 August 2017; HALIMAH is Singapore's first female president; the head of the Council of Presidential Advisors, J.Y. PILLAY, served as acting president until HALIMAH was sworn in as president on 14 September 2017
head of government:
Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers TEO Chee Hean (since 1 April 2009) and Tharman SHANMUGARATNAM (since 21 May 2011)
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister; Cabinet responsible to Parliament
elections/appointments:
president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 6-year term; election last held on 13 September 2017 (next to be held in 2023); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or majority coalition appointed prime minister by president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
election results:
HALIMAH Yacob was declared president on 13 September 2017, being the only eligible candidate; Tony TAN Keng Yam elected president in the previous contested election on 27 August 2011; percent of vote - Tony TAN Keng Yam (independent) 35.2% , TAN Cheng Bock (independent) 34.9%, TAN Jee Say (independent) 25%, TAN Kin Lian (independent) 4.9%
Legislative branch:
description:
unicameral Parliament (101 seats; 89 members directly elected by popular vote, up to 9 nominated by a parliamentary selection committee and appointed by the president, and up to 9 but currently 3 non-constituency members from opposition parties to ensure political diversity; members serve 5-year terms)
elections:
last held on 11 September 2015 (next to be held in 2020)
election results:
percent of vote by party - PAP 69.9%, WP 12.5%, other 17.6%; seats by party - PAP 83, WP 6; composition - men 77, women 24, percent of women 23.8%
Judicial branch:
highest courts:
Supreme Court (although the number of judges varies - as of Feb 2018, it had a total of 21 judges, 7 judicial commissioners, 4 senior judges, and 15 international judges); the court is organized into an upper tier Appeal Court and a lower tier High Court)
judge selection and term of office:
judges appointed by the president from candidates recommended by the prime minister after consultation with the chief justice; judges usually serve until retirement at age 65, but terms can be extended
subordinate courts:
district, magistrates', juvenile, family, community, and coroners' courts; small claims tribunals; employment claims tribunals
Political parties and leaders:
National Solidarity Party or NSP
People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]
Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [Dr. CHEE Soon Juan]
Workers' Party or WP [Pritam SINGH]
International organization participation:
ADB, AOSIS, APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ashok Kumar MIRPURI (since 30 July 2012)
chancery:
3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 537-3100
FAX:
[1] (202) 537-0876
consulate(s) general:
San Francisco
consulate(s):
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Stephanie SYPTAK-RAMNATH (since 20 January 2017)
embassy:
27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508
mailing address:
FPO AP 96507-0001
telephone:
[65] 6476-9100
FAX:
[65] 6476-9340
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle; red denotes brotherhood and equality; white signifies purity and virtue; the waxing crescent moon symbolizes a young nation on the ascendancy; the five stars represent the nation's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality
National symbol(s):
lion, merlion (mythical half lion-half fish creature), orchid; national colors: red, white
National anthem:
name:
"Majulah Singapura" (Onward Singapore)
lyrics/music:
ZUBIR Said
note: adopted 1965; first performed in 1958 at the Victoria Theatre, the anthem is sung only in Malay
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Singapore on this page is re-published from the 2019 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Singapore Government 2019 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Singapore Government 2019 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 08-Feb-19