Singapore has a small population of 4.42 million (as of July 2005) and is the second most densely populated country in the world. Singapore is a multiracial country with a majority population of Chinese. Most of the people of Singapore are Mahayana Buddhist and the annual growth rate for the year 2000 is 2.8%. The country has four official languages, and English is widely used, and Malay is the national language. As Singapore is a small and relatively modern amalgam of Chinese, Malay and Indian immigrants. ... The politics of Singapore is based on a unitary state with some aspects modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary government. ... Singapore has long had a burgeoning urban musical scene, and is a center for rock, punk and other popular genres in the region. ... After independence, in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Singapore had no film industry, being more concerned with the bread-and-butter issues of economic nation-building. ... The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans in the countrys four main languagues: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. ... The major public holidays in Singapore reflect the cultural and religious diversity of the country, including the Chinese New Year, Buddhist Vesak Day, Muslim Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha (known locally by its Malay names Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji respectively), Hindu Diwali (known locally by... Singlish, a portmanteau of the words Singaporean and English, is the English-based creole spoken colloquially in Singapore. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... List of countries/dependencies by population density in inhabitants/km². The figures in the following table are based on areas including inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Guan Yin from Mt. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ...

Ethnic groups

Singapore has been a country of immigrants since Sir Stamford Raffles founded the island in 1819. Though the Chinese group is clearly the main ethnic category, there are no precise figures available about the exact population breakdown by ethnic groups. Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (6 July 1781 - 5 July 1826) was the founder of the city (now country) of Singapore, and is one of the best-known of the many Britons who created the largest empire the world has ever seen. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The only official ethnic breakdown from the "Census 2000" shows : Chinese 77%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.6%, other 1.4%, (100% being Singapore citizens + "resident" foreign population). Malays (Dutch, Malayo, ultimately from Malay: Melayu) are a diverse group of people living in the Malay archipelago and Malay peninsula in South East Asia. ...

Such breakdown does not take into account the "non-resident" foreign population which is particularly important given Singapore's size, accounting for up to 19% of the total population. There are no official figures for non-resident population, but ethnic Chinese are probably only a minority group among "non-residents". Among "non-residents" are noticeable communities such as maids, perhaps numbering 150,000, mostly from the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Other communities include those from South Asia subgroups from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka employed as low-skilled workers, and others, including expatriates, whether westerner or Asian, for example, Japanese and South Korean communities. A maidservant or in current usage maid is a female employed in domestic service. ... Composite satellite image of South Asia Map of South Asia. ... An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. ... The West can refer to : The U.S. West or the American West The Western world, or Western Civilization. ... South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK; Korean: Daehan Minguk (Hangul: 대한 민국; Hanja: 大韓民國)), is a country in East Asia, covering the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. ...

This official breakdown could be further categorised into subgroups by religion, original region or first/secondary immigration from Malaysia, Indonesia or other origin (for Chinese and Indian groups particularly).

The ethnic composition of the population has been stable over the last 30 years.

Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [1]

Languages

Main articles: Languages in Singapore, and [[{{{2}}}]], and [[{{{3}}}]], and [[{{{4}}}]], and [[{{{5}}}]]

There are four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in a country, state, or other territory. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ... This article is on all of the Northern Chinese dialects. ... Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. ...

Malay is the national language of the country, although English is mainly used. English serves as the link between the different ethnic groups and is the language of the educational system and the administration. The colloquial English used in everyday lives is often referred to as Singlish. Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ... The education system in Singapore is managed by Ministry of Education [1] (MOE), which directs the formulation and implementation of education policies. ... Singlish, a portmanteau of the words Singaporean and English, is the English-based creole spoken colloquially in Singapore. ...

The government of Singapore has been promoting the use of Mandarin among the Chinese population with its Speak Mandarin Campaign. The use of Chinese dialects, like Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese and Hakka, has been declining over the last two decades, although they are still being used especially by the older generations of the Chinese population. The Speak Mandarin Campaign (SMC; Simplified Chinese: 讲华语运动) is an initiative to encourage Singapores ethnic Chinese population to speak Mandarin, the official language of China, commonly referred to as Putonghua in Chinese. ... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... Mǐn N n (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name B ; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ... The Teochew, Teochiu, Tiuchiu, Chaozhou, or Diojiu dialect (native name: Diô-jiÇ”-oÄ“; Guangdong romanization: Dio7 Ziu1; Min-nan (prestige dialect such as in Amoy): Tiô-chiu-oÄ“, Chinese: 潮州话, Hanyu Pinyin: Cháozhōuhuà), is a Chinese language and dialect of Minnan spoken in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong. ... Cantonese (Traditional Chinese: 粵語; Simplified Chinese: 粤语, Cantonese: Yuet6yue5; Mandarin pinyin: Yueyu, Yụet (Guangdong) language) is one of the major dialect groups or languages of the Chinese language or language family. ... Hainanese is a dialect of the Min Nan group spoken in the southern Chinese province of Hainan. ... Hakka is one language in the family of languages known as Chinese. ...

About 60% of Singapore's Indian population speaks Tamil as their native language. Other Indian languages are Malayalam and Hindi. Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. ... The article describes the languages spoken in the Republic of India. ... Malayalam (മലയാളം) is the major language of the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... Hindi (हिन्दी hindÄ«) is an Indo-European language spoken mainly in North, Central India and Western India. ...

Around 5000 Peranakans, the early Chinese population of the region, still use the Hokkien-influenced Malay dialect called Baba Malay. Peranakan, Baba-Nyonya (峇峇娘惹) and Straits Chinese (土生華人; named after the Straits of Malacca) are terms used for the descendants of the early Chinese immigrants to the Nusantara region, including both the British Straits Settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang and the Dutch-controlled island of Java among other places, who have... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ... The Malay language, through its history also experiences pidginization and creolization processes. ...

Religion

Main articles: Religion in Singapore, and [[{{{2}}}]], and [[{{{3}}}]], and [[{{{4}}}]], and [[{{{5}}}]]

Singapore generally allows religious freedom, although some religious sects are restricted or banned, such as Jehovah's Witness, due to the opposition of National Service. The majority of Malays are Muslim. A majority of Chinese generally practise a mix of Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Christianity is growing among the Chinese, with many converting. Indians are mostly Hindus though many others are Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians. Singapore is generally a multi-religious country, mainly due to its strategic location and the variety of religious beliefs that most Singaporeans hold. ... National Service describes a form of military service where all members of one particular nation can participate (voluntarily or non-voluntarily. ... ▶ (help· info) (Arabic: الإسلام; al- islām, the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Guan Yin from Mt. ... For other uses of the words tao and dao, see Dao (disambiguation). ... Sage Confucius——孔子 Confucianist temple Thian Hock Keng in Singapore Confucianism (Chinese: 儒学, Pinyin Rúxu邂, The School of the Scholars; or, less accurately, 孔教 Kŏng jiào, The Religion of Confucius) is an East Asian ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion that recognizes Jesus Christ as its central figure, Lord and Messiah. ... A Hindu (archaic Hindoo) is an adherent of philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, also known as Sanatan (सनातन) Dharma or Vedic Dharma. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The adherents of Sikhism are called Sikhs. ... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ...

Source: Census 2000. [2] Around 42. ... The Masjid Sultan (Sultan Mosque) in Singapore was built in 1824 and declared a national monument in 1973. ... Christians constituted approximately 14. ... Taoism is adhered by 8. ... The Golden Temple is a sacred shrine for Sikhs Sikhism (Punjabi: ) is a religion based on the teachings of ten Gurus who lived primarily in 16th and 17th century India. ...

Population

Main articles: Population of Singapore, and [[{{{2}}}]], and [[{{{3}}}]], and [[{{{4}}}]], and [[{{{5}}}]]

Demographics of Singapore, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

4,600,000 (July 2003 est.) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Headquartered in Rome, Italy, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations programs seek to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living; to improve the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of food and agricultural products; to promote rural development; and, by these means, to eliminate hunger. ...

(2000 est.)

(2000 est.)

(2000 est.)

(2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate

3.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 80.05 years
male: 77.1 years
female: 83.23 years (2000 est.) Life expectancy is the average number of years remaining for a living being (or the average for a class of living beings) of a given age to live. ...

Fertility rate

Singapore's fertility rate is 1.05 children born per woman (CIA Factbook 2005 est.) which is one of the lowest in the world. The (total) fertility rate of a population is the average number of child births per woman. ...

Marriages and divorces

Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [3]

The divorce rate has doubled over the last decade, and as of 2003, for every ten marriages registered in Singapore, almost three ended in divorce. The Women's Charter protects the women's financial interests during a divorce, often requiring the husband to contribute to his divorced wife and their children. The Womens Charter was an Act of the Singaporean Parliament passed in 1961. ...

Literacy

Aged 15 years & above

Source: Census 2000

Education

Source: Census 2000. [4]

Employment

In 2004, the unemployment rate is 4.3 for a labour force of 2.18 million people. In the first quarter of 2005, the unemployment rate is 3.9% which is an increase from 3.7% for the last quarter of 2004 [5]. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Unemployment rates were seasonally adjusted. The Central Provident Fund (CPF) is a comprehensive social security savings plan which aims to provide working Singaporeans with a sense of security and confidence in their old age. ...

Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [6]

Household income

Average household income

The average household income is SGD$4,943 in 2000, which is an increase from SGD$3,080 in 1990 at an average annual rate of 4.9 percent. The average household income expereinced a drop of 2.7 percent in 1999 due to economic slowdown. The Singapore dollar, divided into 100 cents, is the monetary unit of Singapore (currency code SGD). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The Singapore dollar, divided into 100 cents, is the monetary unit of Singapore (currency code SGD). ... This article is about the year. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [7] The Singapore dollar, divided into 100 cents, is the monetary unit of Singapore (currency code SGD). ... The Singapore dollar, divided into 100 cents, is the monetary unit of Singapore (currency code SGD). ...

Measured in 1990 dollars, the average household income rose from SGD$3,080 in 1990 to SGD$4,170 in 2000 at an average annual rate of 2.8 percent. [8]

Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [9] The Singapore dollar, divided into 100 cents, is the monetary unit of Singapore (currency code SGD). ... The Singapore dollar, divided into 100 cents, is the monetary unit of Singapore (currency code SGD). ...

Household income distribution

Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [10] The Singapore dollar, divided into 100 cents, is the monetary unit of Singapore (currency code SGD). ...

Growth in household income by decile

With the recovery from the 1998 economic slowdown, household income growth had resumed for the majority of households in 2000. However, for the lowest two deciles, the average household income in 2000 had declined compared with 1999. This was mainly due to the increase in the proportion of households with no income earner from 75 percent in 1999 to 87 percent in 2000 for the lowest 10%. Households with no income earner include those with retired elderly persons as well as unemployed members. [11]

Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [12] The Singapore dollar, divided into 100 cents, is the monetary unit of Singapore (currency code SGD). ...

Household income disparity

The disparity in household income had widened in 2000, reflecting the faster income growth for the higher-income households. The Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, rose from 0.446 in 1998 to 0.481 in 2000. Other measures of income inequality also indicated similar trend of increasing disparity in household income. [13] The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper Variabilità e mutabilità. It is usually used to measure income inequality, but can be used to measure any form of uneven distribution. ...

Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [14] The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper Variabilità e mutabilità. It is usually used to measure income inequality, but can be used to measure any form of uneven distribution. ...

In the United Nations Development Programme Report 2004, (page 50-53), Singapore's Gini coefficient based on income is 0.425 in 1998, which is ranked 78 among 127 countries in income equality (see list of countries by income equality). Main article: League of Nations The term United Nations was coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, to refer to the Allies. ... List of countries/dependencies by Income inequality metrics ; based on Gini coefficient. ...

See also

• Malay Singaporean
• Chinese Singaporean
• Indian Singaporean

The term Malay Singaporeans refers to Singaporeans of Malay descent. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The term Indian Singaporean refers to any Singapore citizen of South Asian ancestry. ...

External links

• Census 2000
• Singapore Dept of Statistics

edit	Singapore
History	Timeline of Singaporean history, Founding of modern Singapore, Straits Settlements, Battle of Singapore, Japanese Occupation of Singapore, Sook Ching Massacre, 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore, PAP-UMNO Relations
Politics	Government, President, Parliament, Political parties, Prime Minister, Cabinet, Elections, Law, Foreign relations, Counter-terrorism
Geography	Beaches, Chek Jawa, Conservation, Districts and places, Expressways, Islands, Lakes, Parks, Reservoirs, Rivers, Towns, estates and neighbourhoods, Waterways, urban planning in Singapore, Urban Redevelopment Authority
Economy	Singapore dollar, Companies, Banks, Singapore Exchange, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Central Provident Fund, Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore Airlines, Biopolis
Demographics	Malay, Chinese, Indian, Peranakan, Eurasian, Arab
Culture	Music, Film, Literature, Cuisine, Holidays, Education, Homosexuality in Singapore
Transport	Mass Rapid Transit, Light Rapid Transit, Bus transport in Singapore, Expressways of Singapore, Port of Singapore, Singapore Changi Airport
Other	Current events, Flag, Places in Singapore, Armed Forces, Police Force, Communications, Tourism, National Day Parade, International rankings, Architecture