Singapore (2001) | Tokelau (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | none | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
17.89% (male 397,124; female 372,058) 15-64 years: 75.16% (male 1,575,381; female 1,656,838) 65 years and over: 6.95% (male 130,815; female 168,203) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% |
Agriculture - products | rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables; poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats; fish |
Airports | 9 (2000 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
9 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
647.5 sq km land: 637.5 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, but withdrew two years later and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP above that of the leading nations of Western Europe. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 12.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues:
$18.1 billion expenditures: $17.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.5 billion (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million (1987 est.) |
Capital | Singapore | none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 193 km | 101 km |
Constitution | 3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution) | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Singapore conventional short form: Singapore |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | Singapore dollar (SGD) | - |
Death rate | 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $9.7 billion (2000) | - |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self governance in October 2007 did not produce the two-thirds majority vote necessary for changing the political status |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508 mailing address: PSC Box 470, FPO AP 96534-0001 telephone: [65] 476-9100 FAX: [65] 476-9340 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador CHAN Heng Chee chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100 FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, San Francisco consulate(s): New York |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Pedra Branca Island (Pulau Batu Putih) disputed with Malaysia | Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | Singapore is blessed with a highly developed and successful free-market economy, a remarkably open and corruption-free business environment, stable prices, and the fifth highest per capita GDP in the world. Exports, particularly in electronics and chemicals, and services are the main drivers of the economy. Mainly because of robust exports, especially electronic goods, the economy grew 10.1% in 2000. Forecasters, however, are projecting only 4%-6% growth in 2001 largely because of weaker global demand, especially in the US. The government promotes high levels of savings and investment through a mandatory savings scheme and spends heavily in education and technology. It also owns government-linked companies (GLCs) - particularly in manufacturing - that operate as commercial entities. As Singapore looks to a future increasingly marked by globalization, the country is positioning itself as the region's financial and high-tech hub. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 25.464 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 27.381 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Singapore Strait 0 m highest point: Bukit Timah 166 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
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 | limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | Chinese 76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.7365 (January 2001), 1.7240 (2000), 1.6950 (1999), 1.6736 (1998), 1.4848 (1997), 1.4100 (1996) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.3811 (2007), 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999) head of government: Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 28 November 1990) and Deputy Prime Ministers LEE Hsien Loong (since 28 November 1990) and Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 August 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 28 August 1999 (next to be held NA August 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN elected president unopposed |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Pio TUIA (since 23 February 2008); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | $137 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $0 |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment (including electronics), chemicals, mineral fuels | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 19%, Malaysia 17%, Hong Kong 8%, Japan 7%, Taiwan 5%, Thailand 4%, UK 4%, Netherlands 3.8%, China 3%, South Korea 3%, Germany 3% (1999) | New Zealand (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $109.8 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NEGL% industry: 30% services: 70% |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $26,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 10.1% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 1 22 N, 103 48 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes | consists of three atolls (Atafu, Fakaofo, Nukunonu), each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over 3 m above sea level |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
3,150 km paved: 3,066 km (including 150 km of expressways) unpaved: 84 km (2000) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
- |
Illicit drugs | as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, to use as a transit point for Golden Triangle heroin and as a venue for money laundering | - |
Imports | $127 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $969,200 c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | US 17%, Japan 17%, Malaysia 16%, Thailand 5%, China 5%, Taiwan 4%, Germany 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) | New Zealand (2006) |
Independence | 9 August 1965 (from Malaysia) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2000 est.) | - |
Industries | electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, entrepot trade, biotechnology | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 3.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2000) | NA% |
International organization participation | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, Australia Group (observer), BIS, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 2.1 million (2000) | 440 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | financial, business, and other services 35%, manufacturing 21%, construction 13%, transportation and communication 9% | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 5% other: 87% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official) | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | New Zealand and local statutes |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 2 January 1997 (next to be held by 26 August 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 65% (in contested constituencies), other 35%; seats by party - PAP 81, WP 1, SPP 1; note - subsequent to the election, there was a change in the distribution of seats, the new distribution is as follows: PAP 80, WP 1, SPP 1, vacant 1 |
unicameral General Fono (20 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Atafu has seven seats, Fakaofo has seven seats, Nukunonu has six seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held 17-19 January 2008 (next to be held in 2011) election results: independents 20 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
80.17 years male: 77.22 years female: 83.35 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.5% male: 97% female: 89.8% (1999) |
NA |
Location | Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
879 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,849,168 GRT/33,215,317 DWT ships by type: bulk 134, cargo 111, chemical tanker 63, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 6, container 167, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 295, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 33 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bermuda 12, Belgium 6, China 9, Denmark 29, Germany 8, Greece 1, Hong Kong 20, Indonesia 9, Japan 32, South Korea 3, Netherlands 2, Norway 9, Russia 1, Sweden 22, Thailand 22, Taiwan 17, UK 3, US 10 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, People's Defense Force, Police Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5 billion (FY00/01 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.5% (FY00/01 est.) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,316,815 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
959,636 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 9 August (1965) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Singaporean(s) adjective: Singapore |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | NA | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | fish, deepwater ports | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 26.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Political parties and leaders | People's Action Party or PAP [GOH Chok Tong, secretary general] - the governing party; Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong]; Workers' Party or WP [J. B. JEYARETNAM] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 4,300,419 (July 2001 est.) | 1,449 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.5% (2001 est.) | -0.018% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Singapore | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 16, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (one radio station provides service to all islands) (2002) |
Radios | 2.6 million (2000) | - |
Railways | total:
38.6 km narrow gauge: 38.6 km 1.000-m gauge note: there is a 83 km mass transit system with 48 stations |
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Religions | Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal and compulsory | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
major consideration given to serving business interests; excellent international service domestic: excellent domestic facilities international: submarine cables to Malaysia (Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia), Indonesia, and the Philippines; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
general assessment: modern satellite-based communications system
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.928 million (November 2000) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.333 million (November 2000) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | - |
Terrain | lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |