SINGAPORE
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Singapore is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. It is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia. The British used Singapore as a strategic trading post along the spice route. It became one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire. It was occupied by the Japanese during World War II. The Chinese form the majority of the population. English is the administrative language of the country.
Singapore consists of 63 islands, including mainland Singapore. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia — Johor-Singapore Causeway in the north, and Tuas Second Link in the west. The south of Singapore, around the mouth of the Singapore River and what is now the Downtown Core, used to be the only concentrated urban area, while the rest of the land was either undeveloped tropical rainforest or used for agriculture. Since the 1960s, the government has constructed new residential towns in outlying areas, resulting in an entirely built-up urban landscape.
Singapore has on-going land reclamation projects with earth obtained from its own hills, the sea-bed, and neighbouring countries. About 23 percent of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature reserves. Urbanization has eliminated many areas of former primary rainforest, with the only remaining area of primary rainforest being Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. A variety of parks are maintained with human intervention, such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Singapore is a multi-religious country. Singapore is a mixture of an indigenous Malay population with a third generation Chinese majority, as well as Indian and Arab immigrants with some intermarriages There also exist significant Eurasian and Peranakan communities.
WEATHER
Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons. Its climate is characterized by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures range from 22 °C to 34 °C. June and July are the hottest months, while November and December make up the wetter monsoon season. From August to October, there is often haze, sometimes severe enough to prompt public health warnings, due to bushfires in neighbouring Indonesia.
HEALTH
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PASSPORT
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