Singapore – education
Singapore has to a greater extent than neighboring countries managed to create a bilingual school offer, where the mother tongue, eg Mandarin, Malay or Tamil, is in principle equal to English. Illiteracy, found only among the elderly population, has been reduced to 9% (1995). The education system is predominantly public and non-compulsory; in practice, however, everyone completes at least ten years of schooling.
After the private preschool for 4-6-year-olds follows the free primary school, which is of six years duration. This is followed by the four-year level-divided secondary school, where tuition fees are paid. Finally, approximately one-third of a cohort (1995) either 2-3 years in Junior Colleges or Pre-University Centers, 3-4 years in technical schools or 2-3 years in an apprenticeship. The country has two universities, both from the 1980’s.
ETYMOLOGY: The word Singapore comes from Sanskrit siṃha ‘lion’ and pura ‘city’, egl. the ‘lion city’.
OFFICIAL NAME: Xinjiapo Gongheguo (Mandarin Chinese), Republic of Singapore (Malaysian), Singapore Kudiyarasu (Tamil)
CAPITAL CITY: Singapore
POPULATION: 4,500,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 648 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): Chinese, Malay, English, Tamil, others
RELIGION: Buddhists 32%, Daoists 22%, Muslims 15%, Christians 13%, Hindus 3%, others el. no 15%
COIN: Singapore dollar
CURRENCY CODE: SGD
ENGLISH NAME: Singapore
INDEPENDENCE: 1965
POPULATION COMPOSITION: Chinese 77%, Malays 14%, Indians 7%, others 2%
GDP PER residents: $ 25443 (2007)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 77 years, women 81 years (2007)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.916
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 25
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .sg
Singapore is an island and republic at the southern tip of the Malacca Peninsula. Singapore Island is separated from Malaysia by the narrow Johor Strait and from Indonesia by the Singapore Strait. The town was founded as a trading post by the British Stamford Raffles in 1819 and became independent in 1965. It is one of the so-called Little Tigers, a highly developed economy in strong growth and with extensive trade and financial interests throughout South Asia.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Find two-letter abbreviation for each independent country and territory, such as SG which stands for Singapore.
Singapore – Constitution
The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore is from 1959 with subsequent amendments. The legislature has a unicameral parliament with 83 directly elected members, of which 44 are elected in single-member constituencies and 39 in 13 group constituencies, where at least one of the elected members must be from one of the non-Chinese minorities. They are elected for five years. In addition, up to three seats can be given to opposition parties, and up to nine seats to politically neutral, both groups with restricted voting rights. The executive power is formally vested in the president, who is elected by direct universal suffrage for six years. He has limited veto power in financial issues. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who has the actual executive power, as well as the other members of the Government. The government must have the confidence of parliament.
Singapore – social conditions
Singapore, like much of the rest of Asia, does not have a state social security system; instead, most of the burden rests on the family. Thus, there is no state unemployment benefit, but a central aid fund for the very poorest. Until now, employees and employers have made a limited contribution to pension savings, but as the elderly will make up an ever larger part of the population in the future, pensions will play a greater role. According to a study by the National University of Singapore, 85% of the elderly in 1999 lived with at least one of their children and expected to be supported by them, while in turn caring for the grandchildren and helping in the household. Check youremailverifier for Singapore social condition facts.
