Yearbook 2010
Singapore. According to COUNTRYAAH, Singapore has a population of 5.639 million (2018). A Malaysian-registered tanker leaked outside Singapore in May following a collision with a cargo ship. Beaches were blocked off, but most of the roughly 2,500 tonnes of crude oil that leaked could be picked up from the sea. The Strait of Malacca is heavily trafficked; a quarter of the world’s freight transport is estimated to cross the strait.
- Abbreviation Finder: Check to see how the two letter abbreviation of SG stands for the country of Singapore in geography.
One British author focused on the use of the death penalty in Singapore and on the sensitive issue of freedom of speech. Human rights groups believe that the authorities often use the courts to silence critics. Author Alan Shadrake was arrested in July, suspected of slander, when he came to Singapore in connection with the publication of a book on the death penalty. The 76-year-old author was sentenced in a first trial in November, for offending the judiciary, to six weeks in prison and a fine of just over SEK 100,000. In the book, Shadrake is critical of how the death penalty is applied. A further trial was awaited.
A terrorist leader who escaped from a Singaporean prison in 2008 but was arrested in Malaysia the following year was extradited to Singapore in September. According to softwareleverage, Mas Selamat Kastari is appointed leader of the Singaporean branch of Islamist group Jemaa Islamiyya. He is accused of planning to hijack an aircraft and crash it at Singapore International Airport.
HUMAN AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
Island state of Southeast Asia. The population was 4,017,700 residents at the 2000 census. The declining birth rate in 2005 was around 10 ‰, while the mortality rate, also slightly down, was around 4.3 ‰. The population is mainly composed of Chinese (75.6 % in 2000), followed by Malays (13.6 %), Indians (8.7 %) and others. Despite the small size (just 699 km 2) and the lack of natural resources, the main demographic and socio-economic indicators are those of an advanced country. Life expectancy at birth is77 years for men and 81 years for women, the per capita income exceeds $ 26,800 (2005), the unemployment rate is 4.2 % (2005), the higher educational offer is high (9 among universities and polytechnics). After a period of uncertainty in the early 2000s, caused by the threat of international terrorism and by the tensions induced by the SARS epidemic ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ), the macroeconomic situation, despite the dependence on the fluctuation in commodity prices, is was characterized by a strong recovery in GDP growth (8.4% in 2004, 6.5 % in 2005). The positive trend is supported both by increased domestic demand, also linked to the increase in real wages and the spread of real estate, and by the expansion of foreign demand for electronic products and components, petroleum derivatives, components for means of transport.. Singapore enjoys solid financial stability which, together with the continuous expansion of the manufacturing sector and a favorable regulatory framework, helps to capture growing flows of foreign investments. Further geo-economic prospects are being consolidated thanks to traditional cultural ties with China and recent openings to India and South Korea. Tourist flows are growing (8.9 million arrivals in 2005), also attracted by the skyline of one of the continent’s most important financial centers.