Fast Facts

Name:		Republic of Singapore
Capital:		Singapore
Location:		An island and islets in the heart of Southeast Asia, between Malaysia and Indonesia
Area:		682.7 sq km
Climate:		Tropical. It’s hot and sunny all year, with two monsoon seasons (December to March and June to September) bringing heavy rains
Government:		Parliamentary republic
Currency:		Singapore Dollar
Population:		4,839,4000 (2008)
Telecom:		Excellent facilities and services, including 3G wireless service and a 99.9% broadband penetration rate
Int'l country code:		+65
Internet code:		.sg

Trivia Time

The national flower of Singapore, Vanda Miss Joaquim, was first discovered in 1893 by Agnes Joaquim, an Armenian. The orchid is a natural hybrid between V. teres and V. hookeriana. Singapore is among the 20 smallest countries in the world, with a total land area of only 682.7 square kilometres. The USA is about 15,000 times bigger.

Apart from Monaco, Singapore is the most densely populated country in the world, with 6,430 people per square kilometre.

Symbolism of the National Flag: Red symbolises universal brotherhood and equality of man while white signifies purity and virtue. The crescent moon represents a young nation on the rise. The five stars signify the ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.

Although English is the official working language and the most widely used language in Singapore, the national anthem 'Majulah Singapura' [Onward Singapore] is actually sung in Malay.

The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in Singapore contains more species of trees than the entire North American continent. Singapore has a very flat terrain. Its highest natural point, the Bukit Timah Hill, rises only 164 metres high.

The most common Chinese surnames in Singapore are Tan, Lim and Lee.

Buildings in Singapore cannot be higher than 280 metres. There are presently three buildings of that height: OUB Centre UOB Plaza Republic Plaza.

Singapore has more than 3,000 kilometres of roads. Stretched end to end, they can cover the distance from Singapore to Hong Kong.

The world's highest man-made waterfall, standing at 30 metres, is located at the Jurong BirdPark. The first population census taken in 1824 revealed that the total population was 10,683. The 2000 census showed that the population of Singapore is 4.2 million.

Singlish

English is widely spoken in Singapore ... or is it?

Over the years, Singaporeans have developed their own brand of English fondly referred to as 'Singlish'.

With our multi-racial background, it's not surprising that 'Singlish' borrows from the many different languages spoken in Singapore.

Here's a collection of 'Singlish' terms which you might find handy on your visit to Singapore.

Chope (verb). Derived from the English language meaning to reserve. Example: It's free seating at the concert, we need to get there early to chope seats for our group.

Lah. The most famous of Singaporean expressions used at the end of sentences for emphasis. Example: Very funny, lah!

Shiok (adj). Pronounced 'shee-oak'. Derived from the Malay language (Straits Chinese) meaning fantastic or marvellous. Example: That prawn mee soup was shiok!"

More Singlish terms at the Visit Singapore Website.