Demographics

Singapore is a small country with a total land area of 704 square kilometres. The total population is about 4.5 million, with a resident population of 3.6 million in 2007. While the population is relatively young, with only 8.5% of the resident population aged 65 and over, the proportion of residents aged 65 and over is projected to increase to 19% by 2030.

In 2007, life expectancy at birth for males was 78.2 years and 82.9 years for females. The crude birth rate for the same year was 10.3 per 1000 resident population and the crude death rate was 4.5 per 1000 resident population. The total fertility rate per resident female is 1.3. The infant mortality rate is very low, at 2.1 per 1000 resident live births.

Political situation

Singapore is a parliamentary republic that obtained independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The Constitution was established on 3 June 1959 and amended in 1965 (based on the pre-independence State of Singapore Constitution). The legal system is based on English common law.

The head of state is President S R Nathan (since 1 September 1999), the head of government is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004), and the Deputy Prime Ministers are S Jayakumar (since 12 August 2004), and Wong Kan Seng (since 1 September 2005). The Cabinet is appointed by the President and is responsible to the Parliament. The President is elected by popular vote for a six-year term. President Sellapan Ramanathan was re-elected for his second term in August 2005.

The legislative branch is unicameral parliament (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms). The judicial branch has a supreme court headed by the Chief Justice who is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Socioeconomic situation

Singapore is characterized by a highly developed and successful free-market economy. It has a very open and corruption-free business environment. With trade 3.9 times the size of gross domestic product (GDP), external demand is the main driver of the economy. The Singapore economy grew by 7.7% in 2007. Per capita gross domestic product amounted to US$ 35 163 in 2007.

Singapore continues to position itself as a vibrant global city and a hub of talent, enterprise and innovation in order to succeed in a globalized world.

Vulnerabilities and hazards

Singapore suffers from few physical hazards. The island city-state is protected from typhoons and monsoons by neighbouring landmasses. Being a small country of only approximately 700 square kilometres, Singapore’s key challenge arises from its size and limited natural resources. As such, human resources are its key strength and great emphasis is given to the development of its population. Singapore is one of the world’s most open economies, highly dependent on the foreign investment, trade and health of other economies. This openness, coupled with a high population density, makes Singapore particularly vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks, such as sever acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

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