singapore
 
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia, located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator, bounded to the west by the Johor Strait, to the south by the Singapore Strait, and adjacent to Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south. It is about one degree north of the equator (approximately 137 kilometers or 85 miles). To the east, it borders the South China Sea, and to the north, it shares the Johor Strait with the state of Johor in Malaysia.The country's land area consists of one main island, 63 smaller islets, and one offshore island. Since gaining independence, extensive land reclamation projects have increased its consolidated area by approximately 25%. Although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning, it has the third-highest population density of any country in the world. With a multicultural population and acknowledgment of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the common language used, and most state services are conducted in English.
 
The history of Singapore is at least more than 700 years old, and it was an essential part of several successive thalassocratic empires known as Temasek, a maritime emporium. Its modern era began in 1819 when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as a British crown colony and a key trading post in British territories. In 1867, Singapore came under direct British rule as a part of the maritime Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was captured by Japan in 1942, and after Japan's surrender in 1945, it returned to British rule as a separate crown colony. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and became part of the new Federation of Malaysia in 1963, along with Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Political differences led to Singapore being expelled from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. |
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