| Abstract from DBPedia | Singapore (/ˈsɪŋ(ɡ)əpɔːr/), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor to the north. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the third highest population density in the world. With a multicultural population and recognising the need to respect cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca and numerous public services are available only in English. Multiracialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics. Singapore's history dates back at least a millennium, having been a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently as a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819 when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, the colonies in Southeast Asia were reorganised and Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942, and returned to British control as a separate crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and in 1963 became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences, most notably the perceived encroachment of the egalitarian "Malaysian Malaysia" political ideology led by Lee Kuan Yew into the other constituent entities of Malaysia—at the perceived expense of the bumiputera and the policies of Ketuanan Melayu—eventually led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence whilst lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers based on international trade and economic globalisation, integrating itself within the world economy through free trade with minimal-to-no trade barriers or tariffs, export-oriented industrialisation, and the large accumulation of received foreign direct investments, foreign-exchange reserves, and assets held by sovereign wealth funds. A highly developed country, it is tied at 11th on the UN Human Development Index and has the second-highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the world. Identified as a tax haven, Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub, and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers. Singapore is placed highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world. Singapore is a unitary parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government, and its legal system is based on common law. Although the country is a multi-party democracy with free elections, the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields significant control and dominance over politics and society. The PAP has ruled the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, with 83 out of 104 seats in Parliament as of the 2020 election, the rest of the seats being held by the Workers' Party (WP) and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP). One of the five founding members of ASEAN, Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Secretariat, and is the host city of many international conferences and events. Singapore is also a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations.シンガポール共和国（シンガポールきょうわこく、英語: Republic of Singapore、マレー語: Republik Singapura、簡体字中国語: 新加坡共和国、繁体字中国語: 新加坡共和國、タミル語: சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு）、通称シンガポールは、東南アジアに位置し、シンガポール島及び60以上の小規模な島々からなる島国、都市国家で、政体は共和制。 同国は、北はジョホール海峡により半島マレーシアから、南はシンガポール海峡によりインドネシアのリアウ諸島州から各々切り離されている。同国は高度に都市化され、原初の現存植生はほとんどない。シンガポールの領土は、一貫して埋立てにより拡大してきた。 シンガポールは、教育、娯楽、金融、ヘルスケア、人的資本、イノベーション、物流、製造・技術、観光、貿易・輸送の世界的な中心である。多くの国際ランキングで上位に格付けされており、最も「テクノロジー対応」国家（WEF）、国際会議のトップ都市（UIA）、世界で最もスマートな都市である「投資の可能性が最も高い」都市（BERI）、世界で最も安全な国、世界で最も競争力のある経済、3番目に腐敗の少ない国、3番目に大きい外国為替市場、3番目に大きい金融センター、3番目に大きい石油精製貿易センター、5番目に革新的な国、2番目に混雑するコンテナ港湾。2013年以来『エコノミスト』は、シンガポールを「最も住みやすい都市」として格付けしている。経済平和研究所によると、シンガポールは2022年の世界平和度指数で9位、汚職の少ない国として12位にランクインしている。 シンガポールはアジアで唯一、全ての主要な格付け機関からAAAソブリン格付けを持つ国家であり、世界11か国のうちの1つである。世界的にはシンガポール港とチャンギ国際空港がそれぞれ「マリタイムキャピタル」と「ベスト空港」のタイトルを連続して獲得している。 シンガポールは、購買力平価による1人当たり国内総生産（GDP）が世界で2番目に高く、国連人間開発指数で9位である。これはアジア諸国の最高値で、教育、医療、平均余命、生活の質、個人の安全、住宅などの主要な社会的指標が上位にランクインし、人口の90％が家を所有していることに由来する。 アジア四小龍の内の1ヶ国。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Singapore) |
