Useful facts and figures about Singapore.

Economy
Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market economy. It enjoys an open and corruption-free environment, stable prices and a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics, information technology products, pharmaceuticals and on a growing financial services sector.
The government predicts growth of 3%-5% for 2010. Over the longer term, the government hopes to establish a growth path focusing on raising productivity growth. Singapore has attracted major investments in pharmaceuticals and medical technology production and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia’s financial and high-tech hub.

Country name: long form: Republic of Singapore; short form: Singapore
Location:  South-eastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Capital: Singapore
Geographic coordinates: 1 17 N, 103 51 E
Time difference: UTC+8
Government type: parliamentary republic
Area: total: 697 sq km; land: 687 sq km; water: 10 sq km
Airports: 8 (2010)
Currency: Singapore dollar
GDP (purchasing power parity): $53,900 (2009 est)
Languages: Mandarin (official) 35%, English (official) 23%, Malay (official) 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil (official) 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
Population: 4,701,069 (July 2010 est)
Population growth rate: 0.863% (2010 est)
Ethnic groups: Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census)
Religions: Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census)
Literacy (defined as age 15 and over can read and write): 92.5%
Natural resources: fish, deepwater ports
Land use: arable land: 1.47%; permanent crops: 1.47%; other: 97.06% (2005)
Environment current issues: industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia
Net migration rate: 4.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est)
Broadcast media: state controls broadcast media; 8 domestic TV stations operated by MediaCorp, wholly owned by a state investment company; broadcasts from Malaysian and Indonesian stations available; satellite dishes banned; multi-channel cable TV service is accessible; a total of 18 domestic radio stations broadcasting with MediaCorp operating more than a dozen and another four stations are closely linked to the ruling party or controlled by the Singapore Armed Forces Reservists Association; large number of Malaysian and Indonesian radio stations are available (2008)
Internet country code: .sg