Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 710.2 km2 (274.2 sq mi), Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast Asia. It is substantially larger than Monaco and Vatican City, the only other present-day sovereign city-states.

Singapore is an alpha World City. Singapore is unique as it is the only country in Asia which has English as its first language. Singapore also has one of the highest percentage of foreigners in the world. 36% of the population in Singapore are foreigners, making up approximately 1.3 Million of the 5 million population, and foreigners make up 50% of the service sector in Singapore.

Even before independence in 1965, Singapore was already one of the richest states in East Asia due to its strategic location as a trading port. Its GDP per capita then was $511, roughly the same as Portugal. In comparison, both South

Korea and China had a GDP per capita of $105 and $90 respectively in 1965. After independence, Foreign direct investment into Singapore and a state-led drive to industrialization based on plans drawn up by Goh Keng Swee and Albert Winsemius have created a modern economy focused on industry, education and urban planning. Singapore is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita and 23rd wealthiest in terms of GDP (nominal) per capita. As of January 2009, Singapore's official foreign reserves stand at US$170.3 billion (9th in the world). The city state is also the second most crowded country in the world after Monaco.

The population of Singapore including non-residents is approximately 4.99 million. Singapore is highly cosmopolitan and diverse with Chinese people forming an ethnic majority with large populations of Malay, Indian and other people. English, Malay, Tamil, and Chinese are the official languages.

"Singapore" is the name of both the city and country, which are the same entity. That is, the entire country constitutes a single municipality. It is considered incorrect to call the city "Singapore City."

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