Singapore (2005) | Tokelau (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16% (male 366,971/female 342,295)
15-64 years: 75.9% (male 1,639,842/female 1,719,829) 65 years and over: 8.1% (male 157,636/female 199,147) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables, poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 10 (2004 est.) | none; lagoon landings by amphibious aircraft from Samoa |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 10
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 692.7 sq km
land: 682.7 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 | Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated 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 in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to 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. According to a UN report, these low-lying islands will disappear in the 21st century, if global warming continues to raise sea levels. |
Birth rate | 9.49 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $17.05 billion
expenditures: $18.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.8 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$430,830 expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | Singapore | none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
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, as amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $19.4 billion (2004 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution, developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with Wellington |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Franklin L. LAVIN
embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508 mailing address: FPO AP 96507-0001 telephone: [65] 6476-9100 FAX: [65] 6476-9340 |
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: San Francisco consulate(s): New York |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | disputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works, bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Batam Island; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $3.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Singapore, a highly developed and successful free market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a per capita GDP equal to that of the Big 4 West European countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It was hard hit in 2001-03 by the global recession, by the slump in the technology sector, and by an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003, which curbed tourism and consumer spending. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. Fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, a surge in exports, and internal flexibility led to vigorous growth in 2004, with real GDP rising by 8 percent, by far the economy's best performance since 2000. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people must rely on aid from New Zealand to maintain public services, 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 | 32 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - production | 35.33 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
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 | very 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census) | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003), 1.7906 (2002), 1.7917 (2001), 1.724 (2000) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.2502 (January 2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997), 1.4543 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004); Senior Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 12 August 2004); Minister Mentor LEE Kuan Yew (since 12 August 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers Shunmugan JAYAKUMAR (since 12 August 2004) and Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 August 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for six-year term; last appointed 17 August 2005 (next election to be held by August 2011); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by president; deputy prime ministers appointed by president election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN appointed president in August 2005 after Presidential Elections Committee disqualified three other would-be candidates |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Lindsay WATT (since NA March 1993) head of government: Aliki Faipule FALIMATEAO (since NA 1997) cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders, one from each atoll; 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 | NA | $98,000 (f.o.b., 1983) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Malaysia 15.2%, US 13%, Hong Kong 9.8%, China 8.6%, Japan 6.4%, Taiwan 4.6%, Thailand 4.3%, South Korea 4.1% (2004) | NZ |
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 - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0% negligible
industry: 32.6% services: 67.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.1% (2004 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 | - |
Highways | total: 3,130 km
paved: 3,130 km (including 150 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, to be used as a transit point for Golden Triangle heroin and as a venue for money laundering | - |
Imports | NA | $323,400 (c.i.f., 1983) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | Malaysia 15.3%, US 12.7%, Japan 11.7%, China 9.9%, Taiwan 5.7%, South Korea 4.3%, Thailand 4.1% (2004) | NZ |
Independence | 9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 11.1% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, life sciences, entrepot trade | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 2.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2004 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | SPC, WHO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
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 | 2.18 million (2004 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, financial, business, and other services 49%, other 16% (2003) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0% other: 98.36% (2001) |
arable land:
0% (soil is thin and infertile) permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (1993 est.) |
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% (2000 census) | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | British and local statutes |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; the losing opposition candidate who came closest to winning a seat may be appointed as a "nonconstituency" member
elections: last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held not later than 25 June 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 75.3% (in contested constituencies), other 24.7%; seats by party - PAP 82, WP 1, SPP 1 |
unicameral General Fono (45 seats - 15 from each of the three atolls; members chosen by each atoll's Council of Elders or Taupulega to serve three-year terms); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 81.62 years
male: 79.05 years female: 84.39 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 96.6% female: 88.6% (2002) |
- |
Location | Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia | Oceania, group of three islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 923 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 23,065,290 GRT/36,393,317 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 138, cargo 86, chemical tanker 115, combination ore/oil 5, container 180, liquefied gas 42, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 316, refrigerated cargo 3, vehicle carrier 36 foreign-owned: 487 (Australia 5, Bangladesh 1, Belgium 10, China 15, Denmark 34, Germany 7, Greece 5, Hong Kong 43, India 3, Indonesia 54, Japan 83, Malaysia 31, Norway 83, Philippines 3, Russia 1, Slovenia 1, South Korea 12, Sweden 12, Taiwan 44, Thailand 17, UAE 6, United Kingdom 12, United States 5) registered in other countries: 276 (2005) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Singapore Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense (2005) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4.47 billion (FY01 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.9% (FY01) | - |
National holiday | National 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 | 10.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Pipelines | gas 139 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | governing party: People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]; opposition parties: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [LING How Dong]; National Solidarity Party or NSP [vacant] (SDA group); Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong] (includes SPP, PKMS, NSP, SJP); Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore Justice Party or SJP [Desmond LIM] (SDA group); Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS [Malik ISMAIL] (SDA group); Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong] (SDA group); Workers' Party or WP [Sylvia Lim Swee LIAN] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 4,425,720 (July 2005 est.) | 1,445 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.56% (2005 est.) | -0.92% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Singapore | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
Radios | - | 1,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census) | 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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal and compulsory | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent service
domestic: excellent domestic facilities international: country code - 65; 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:
adequate domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,896,100 (2004) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,521,800 (2004) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (2003) | NA |
Terrain | lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.05 children born/woman (2005 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 3.4% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |