Legend:
 Definition
 Field Listing
 Rank Order
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Background:
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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. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
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Location:
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Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
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Geographic coordinates:
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1 22 N, 103 48 E
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Map references:
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Southeast Asia
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Area:
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total: 692.7 sq km
water: 10 sq km
land: 682.7 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
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Land boundaries:
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0 km
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Coastline:
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193 km
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Maritime claims:
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exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice
territorial sea: 3 NM
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Climate:
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tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from June to September; inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
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Terrain:
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lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Singapore Strait 0 m
highest point: Bukit Timah 166 m
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Natural resources:
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fish, deepwater ports
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Land use:
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arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 98.36% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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NA sq km
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Natural hazards:
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NA
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Environment - current issues:
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industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes
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Population:
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4,608,595 (July 2003 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 17.3% (male 411,656; female 385,575)
15-64 years: 75.5% (male 1,687,217; female 1,793,783)
65 years and over: 7.2% (male 144,277; female 186,087) (2003 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 34.5 years
male: 34.3 years
female: 34.8 years (2002)
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Population growth rate:
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3.42% (2003 est.)
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Birth rate:
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12.75 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
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Death rate:
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4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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25.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 3.57 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 3.87 deaths/1,000 live births
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 80.42 years
male: 77.46 years
female: 83.6 years (2003 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.24 children born/woman (2003 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.2% (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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3,400 (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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140 (2001 est.)
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Nationality:
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noun: Singaporean(s)
adjective: Singapore
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Ethnic groups:
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Chinese 76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4%
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Religions:
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Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist
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Languages:
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Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official)
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.2%
male: 96.7%
female: 89.7% (2003 est.)
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore
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Government type:
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parliamentary republic
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Capital:
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Singapore
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Administrative divisions:
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none
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Independence:
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9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 9 August (1965)
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Constitution:
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3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution)
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Legal system:
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based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage:
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21 years of age; universal and compulsory
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 28 November 1990) and Deputy Prime Ministers Brig. Gen. (Ret.) LEE Hsien Loong (since 28 November 1990) and TAN Keng Yam Tony (since 1 August 1995)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 28 August 1999 (next to be held by August 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN elected president unopposed
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral Parliament (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; the losing opposition candidate who came closest to winning a seat may be appointed as a "nonconstituency" member
elections: last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held 25 June 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 75.3% (in contested constituencies), other 24.7%; seats by party - PAP 82, WP 1, SDA 1
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals
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Political parties and leaders:
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governing party: People's Action Party or PAP [GOH Chok Tong]; opposition parties: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [leader NA]; National Solidarity Party or NSP [Steve CHIA]; Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong] (includes SPP, PKMS, NSP, SJP); Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore Justice Party or SJP [leader NA]; Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS [Muhammad ALI Aman]; Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong]; Workers' Party or WP [LOW Thia Kiang]
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA
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International organization participation:
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APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, ESCAP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador CHAN Heng Chee
consulate(s): New York
consulate(s) general: San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876
telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100
chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Franklin L. LAVIN
embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508
mailing address: PSC Box 470, FPO AP 96507-0001
telephone: [65] 6476-9100
FAX: [65] 6476-9340
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Flag description:
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two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle
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Economy - overview:
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Singapore, a highly developed and successful free market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It was hard hit in 2001-2002 by the global recession and the slump in the technology sector. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle than the current export-led model but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub.
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $112.4 billion (2002 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2.2% (2002 est.)
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $25,200 (2002 est.)
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: NEGL%
industry: 33%
services: 67% (2001 est.)
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Population below poverty line:
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NA%
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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-0.4% (2002 est.)
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Labor force:
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2.19 million (2000)
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Labor force - by occupation:
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financial, business, and other services 35%, manufacturing 21%, construction 13%, transportation and communication 9%, other 22%
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Unemployment rate:
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4.6% (2002 est.)
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Budget:
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revenues: $27.9 billion
expenditures: $19.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.4 billion (FY 00/01 est.)
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Industries:
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electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, entrepot trade, biotechnology
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Industrial production growth rate:
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-9.8% (2002 est.)
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Electricity - production:
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30.48 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
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Electricity - consumption:
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28.35 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - consumption:
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700,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001)
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001)
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Natural gas - production:
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0 cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption:
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2.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2001 est.)
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Natural gas - imports:
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2.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)
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Agriculture - products:
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rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables; poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish
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Exports:
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$127 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels
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Exports - partners:
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Malaysia 17.4%, US 15.3%, Hong Kong 9.2%, Japan 7.1%, China 5.5%, Taiwan 4.9%, Thailand 4.6%, South Korea 4.2% (2002)
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Imports:
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$113 billion (2002 est.)
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs
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Imports - partners:
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Malaysia 18.2%, US 14.3%, Japan 12.5%, China 7.6%, Thailand 4.6%, Taiwan 4.6% (2002)
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Debt - external:
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$8.2 billion (2002 est.)
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$NA
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Currency:
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Singapore dollar (SGD)
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Currency code:
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SGD
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Exchange rates:
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Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001), 1.72 (2000), 1.69 (1999), 1.67 (1998)
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Fiscal year:
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1 April - 31 March
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Railways:
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total: 38.6 km
narrow gauge: 38.6 km 1.000-m gauge
note: there is also an 83 km mass transit system with 48 stations
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Highways:
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total: 3,066 km
paved: 3,066 km (including 150 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1999)
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Waterways:
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none
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Pipelines:
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gas 139 km (2003)
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Ports and harbors:
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Singapore
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Merchant marine:
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total: 859 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 20,836,021 GRT/32,765,063 DWT
ships by type: bulk 125, cargo 85, chemical tanker 87, combination bulk 6, combination ore/oil 8, container 176, liquefied gas 38, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, petroleum tanker 277, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 31
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 7, Belgium 6, China 12, Denmark 27, Germany 17, Greece 4, Hong Kong 44, Indonesia 8, Japan 52, Malaysia 4, Monaco 22, Netherlands 2, Norway 42, Philippines 6, Russia 3, Slovenia 1, South Korea 10, Sweden 13, Switzerland 7, Taiwan 46, Tanzania 2, Thailand 22, UAE 4, UK 14, US 1 (2002 est.)
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Airports:
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9 (2002)
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 9
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002)
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This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
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