Singapore

Country	Singapore
Flag
Capital	name: Singapore geographic coordinates: 1 17 N, 103 51 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Population	4,657,542 (July 2009 est.)
GMT	+8
Location	Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Area	total: 692.7 sq km land: 682.7 sq km water: 10 sq km
Ethnic groups	Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census)
Religions	Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census)
Languages	Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
Government type	parliamentary republic
National holiday	National Day, 9 August (1965)
Constitution	3 June 1959; amended 1965 (based on pre-independence State of Singapore Constitution)
Legal system	based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Background	Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. Singapore subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
Internet country code	.sg