Singapore Facts & Information

Location	Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Climate	Tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from June to September; inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
Terrain	Lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve
Population	4,425,720
Nationality	Singaporean
Ethnic groups	Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4%
Religions	Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%
Languages	Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9%
Government Type	Parliamentary Republic
Capital	Singapore
Currency	Singapore dollar (SGD)
Description of Flag	Two equal horizontal bands of red and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescentmpartially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle.
Singapore Flag

More Information
 www.cia.gov

Singapore Culture

Christianity (10%), Taoism (9%), Catholicism (5%) and Hinduism (4%). Still, English remains the second most commonly used language (after Mandarin), and many Singaporeans rely on Malay, Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew or Tamil to communicate.

More Information:
 www.state.gov

Singapore Culture

Christianity (10%), Taoism (9%), Catholicism (5%) and Hinduism (4%). Still, English remains the second most commonly used language (after Mandarin), and many Singaporeans rely on Malay, Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew or Tamil to communicate.

More Information:
 www.state.gov

Singapore Shopping

Japanese giant, Takashimaya. But for those of you looking for affordable souvenirs, check out Shaw Centre. Teens should definitely hit up Far East Plaza, which houses over 600 retailers, including many hip clothing shops, video game holes and tattoo parlors.

For those with a little more time on their hands, and the desire to experience Singapore's cultural offerings, explore Arab Street, which begins just north of Beach Road. Here you'll find shops that draw on Malay, Islamic and Arab influences and sell traditional wardrobe, basket ware, jewelry and cuisine. Little India, which is easily accessible by the public train system, bustles with activity on the weekends and offers everything from new Bollywood films on DVD to exotic spices in cozy shops. Of course, there's always Chinatown. But you might find Holland Village's historic shops and eclectic mix of French and Thai cuisine more novel and enjoyable (it's also hugely popular with the expatriates).

Singapore Shopping

Japanese giant, Takashimaya. But for those of you looking for affordable souvenirs, check out Shaw Centre. Teens should definitely hit up Far East Plaza, which houses over 600 retailers, including many hip clothing shops, video game holes and tattoo parlors.

For those with a little more time on their hands, and the desire to experience Singapore's cultural offerings, explore Arab Street, which begins just north of Beach Road. Here you'll find shops that draw on Malay, Islamic and Arab influences and sell traditional wardrobe, basket ware, jewelry and cuisine. Little India, which is easily accessible by the public train system, bustles with activity on the weekends and offers everything from new Bollywood films on DVD to exotic spices in cozy shops. Of course, there's always Chinatown. But you might find Holland Village's historic shops and eclectic mix of French and Thai cuisine more novel and enjoyable (it's also hugely popular with the expatriates).

Singapore Travel Guides
 Frommer's Singapore
 Lonely Planet Singapore
 Let's Go Singapore
 Fodors Singapore