Under the Köppen climate classification system, 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 (72° to 93 °F). On average, the relative humidity is around 90 percent in the morning and 60 percent in the afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100 percent. The lowest and highest temperatures recorded in its maritime history are 18.4 °C (65.1 °F) and 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) respectively. The highest wind speed recorded was 150 km/h (93 mph) on 26 May 2007. 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. Singapore does not observe daylight saving time or a summer time zone change. The length of the day is nearly constant year round due to the country's location near the equator.
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.
The dollar (currency code SGD) is the currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents.
Between 1845 and 1939, Singapore used the Straits dollar. This was replaced by the Malayan dollar, and, from 1953, the Malaya and British Borneo dollar, which were issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo.
Singapore continued to use the common currency upon joining Malaysia in 1963 but, two years after Singapore's expulsion and independence from Malaysia in 1965, the monetary union between Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei broke down. Singapore established the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore, on April 7, 1967 and issued its first coins and notes. Nevertheless, the Singapore dollar was exchangeable at par with the Malaysian ringgit until 1973. Interchangeability with the Brunei dollar is still maintained.Consequently, the dollar was initially pegged to the British pound at a rate of $60 = £7.
The Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore, was dissolved on October 1, 2002 and its functions, property and liabilities had been transferred to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
In 1967, the first series of coins was introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 dollar. Except for the bronze 1 cent, these coins were struck in cupro-nickel. In
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. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's many smaller islands. The highest natural point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill at
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. The Urban Redevelopment Authority was established on 1 April 1974, responsible for urban planning.
Singapore has on-going land reclamation projects with earth obtained from its own hills, the sea-bed, and neighbouring countries. As a result, Singapore's land area grew from 581.5 km² (224.5 sq mi) in the 1960s to 704 km² (271.8 sq mi) today, and may grow by another 100 km² (38.6 sq mi) by 2030.[31] The projects sometimes involve some of the smaller islands being merged together through land reclamation in order to form larger, more functional islands, such as in the case of Jurong Island.
The name Singapura comes from the Malay, Singapura. According to the Malay Annals, this name was given by a 14th century Sumatran prince named Sang Nila Utama, who, landing on the island after a thunderstorm, spotted an auspicious beast on the shore, which his chief minister erroneously identified as a 'singha' or lion. Recent studies of Singapore, however, indicate that lions have never lived there, not even Asiatic lions; the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was most likely a tiger, probably the Malayan Tiger.
Poiché Singapore è un paese che accoglie molte etnie e religioni (cinesi, indù e musulmani) si celebrano varie feste.
Tra il mese di gennaio e febbraio si festeggia il Capodanno Cinese , in occasione del quale si tengono spettacoli di danze del drago e Chinatown si riempie di luci e colori e abbondano i fuochi d'artificio.
Per i musulmani il più importante periodo di festività è il Ramadan: nome che si dà al nono mese dell’anno lunare musulmano (Egira).
Dall’alba al tramonto tutti devono rispettare il digiuno; in questo periodo l’atmosfera è quasi surreale e immobile. Tutti i negozi sono chiusi e nulla sembra essere animato. Al calar del sole, dopo il tramonto, la vita esplode in un rituale di festa e preghiera collettiva. Anche i turisti devono, in pubblico, rispettare il Ramadan.
Il periodo del mese sacro di Ramadan si conclude con la festa detta Aid al-Fitr o piccola festa: i bambini sono i più contenti, per loro ci sono infatti dolci a volontà!
Celebrata durante il 10° giorno del mese del Pellegrinaggio, l’Aid al-Adha, o festa del sacrificio, è la solennità più importante del calendario islamico: è una celebrazione talmente importante che è anche soprannominata Aid al-Kabir (festa grande). Si commemora il miracolo che Allah compì sostituendo il figlio di Abramo con un montone durante il sacrificio.
Un’altra importante celebrazione dell’anno lunare islamico è l’Aid-Milad-an-Nabi, in cui si commemora il giorno di nascita del profeta Maometto.
In aprile e maggio si tiene la festa del Vesak che commemora la nascita, l'illuminazione e la morte del Budda. Sono previste diverse manifestazioni tra le quali la liberazione degli uccelli in gabbia che vuole simboleggiare l’affrancamento delle anime dalla prigionia della vita terrena.
La Festa della Barca del Drago, si tiene tra maggio e giugno e si celebra in memoria di un santo cinese che sacrificò la propria vita per protestare contro la corruzione del governo; durante tale celebrazione avrete la possibilità di ammirare le regate che attraversano Marina Bay.
La Festa dei fantasmi affamati, a settembre, simboleggia l’assoluzione delle anime dei morti sulla terra affinché anch'esse possano partecipare ai festeggiamenti.
Tra le altre festività ricordiamo il Capodanno, il 1° gennaio; Natale, il 25 dicembre; Pasqua, con data variabile; il Capodanno Cinese, tra gennaio e febbraio; la Festa del Sacrificio, il 28 marzo; la Festa del Lavoro, il 1° maggio; la Festa Nazionale, il 9 agosto; il Deepavali, il 7 novembre.
According to government statistics, the population of Singapore as of 2007 was 4.59 million, of whom 3.58 million were Singaporean citizens and permanent residents (termed 'Singapore Residents'). Chinese formed 75.2% of 'Singapore Residents', Malays 13.6%, Indians 8.8%, while Eurasians and other groups formed 2.4%.
In 2006 the crude birth rate stood at 10.1 per 1000, a very low level attributed to birth control policies, and the crude death rate was also one of the lowest in the world at 4.3 per 1000. The total population growth was 4.4% with Singapore residents growth at 1.8%. The higher percentage growth rate is largely from net immigration, but also increasing life expectancy. Singapore is the second-most densely populated independent country in the world after Monaco, excluding Macau and Hong Kong, which are special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China. In 1957, Singapore's population was approximately 1.45 million, and there was a relatively high birth rate. Aware of the country's extremely limited natural resources and small territory, the government introduced birth control policies in the late 1960s. In the late 1990s, the population was ageing, with fewer people entering the labour market and a shortage of skilled workers. In a dramatic reversal of policy, the Singapore government introduced a "baby bonus" scheme in 2001 (enhanced in August 2004) that encouraged couples to have more children.[
In 2006, the total fertility rate was only 1.26 children per woman, the 3rd lowest in the world and well below the 2.10 needed to replace the population. In 2006, 38,317 babies were born, compared to around 37,600 in 2005. This number, however, is not sufficient to maintain the population's growth. To overcome this problem, the government is encouraging foreigners to immigrate to Singapore. These large numbers of immigrants have kept Singapore's population from declining.
Singapore City (Downtown Core)1
1°17′N 103°51′E / 1.283, 103.85
Official languages English
Malay
Mandarin
Tamil
Demonym Singaporean
Government Parliamentary republic
- President Sellapan Ramanathan
- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Independence
- City status July 24, 1951
- Self-government
under the United Kingdom
3 June 1959[1]
- Declaration of independence 31 August 1963
- Merger with Malaysia 16 September 1963
- Separation from Malaysia 9 August 1965
Area
- Total 707.1 km² (190th)
270 sq mi
- Water (%) 1.444
Population
- 2007 estimate 4,588,600[2] (117th)
- 2000 census 4,117,700
- Density 6,489/km² (2nd)
16,392/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate
- Total US$228.116 billion (44th)
- Per capita US$49,714 (6th)
GDP (nominal) 2007 estimate
- Total US$171.95 billion[3]
- Per capita US$39,952.44
HDI (2007) ▬ 0.922 (high) (25th)
Currency Singapore dollar (SGD)
Time zone SST (UTC+8)
- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+8)
Internet TLD .sg
Calling code +65²
Italiano
Español