WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SINGAPORE?
Singapore is on the Continent of Asia, and includes the southernmost point of continental Asia, It is between Malaysia and Indonesia in the South China Sea, or about 1500 miles northwest of Australia.
Just 137 kilometres (a little more than 85 miles) from the Equator
One degree North of the Equator
Malaysia and Indonesia are Singapore's closest neighbors
Singapore is about 693 sq km (or 268 square miles) in size. About 3.5 times bigger than Washington D.C.
Above information and map from http://www.singaporeforkids.com/. For more great information on Singapore visit the site.
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Facts and Figures on Singapore
Full country name: | Republic of Singapore |
Area: | 699.1 sq km |
Population: | 4,987,604 (36% foreigners) |
People: | 74% Chinese, 13% Malay, 9% Indian, 3% Others, including 0.00008% from Webster Groves |
Language: | English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil |
Religion: | 9% Taoist, 42% Buddhist, 15% Muslim, 15% Christian, 4% Hindu, 15% Others |
Government: | Parliamentary democracy |
President: | SR Nathan |
Prime Minister: | Lee Hsien Long |
Major industries: | Shipping, banking, tourism, electrical & electronics, chemicals, oil refining |
Major trading partners: | US, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan |
"The colours of the Singapore flag represent red for brotherhood and equality; white for purity and virtue. The crescent moon represents a young nation on the rise. The five stars stand for Singapore's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.
The crescent moon originally served as a symbol of assurance to the Malays in 1959 —the year the flag was designed— that Singapore was not a Chinese state. Today it is generally said that the moon signified a young nation rising. The flag was designed initially to have three stars, until leaders such as then Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye expressed concern that Singapore might be perceived to have associations with the Malayan Communist Party, the flag of which also had three stars. The flag was originally meant to be red as red is a very traditional Chinese color. But because of the fear of Communism in those days, a completely red flag was abandoned."
Facts, figures and flag information from http://www.singaporeexpats.com/about-singapore/facts-at-a-glance.htm.
