Singapore | |
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Singapore ( (listen)), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Straits of Malacca to the west, the Riau Islands to the south, and the South China Sea to the east. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet, the combined area of which has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the second greatest population density in the world. The country is home to almost 5.7 million residents, 61% (3.4 million) of whom are Singaporean citizens. There are four official languages of Singapore: English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil; with English being the lingua franca. Multiracialism is enshrined in the constitution, and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.
Although its history stretches back millennia, modern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles as a trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, the colonies in East Asia were reorganised and Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942, but returned to British control as a separate crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959, and in 1963 became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore being expelled from the federation two years later, thereby becoming an independent country. Since then, Singapore is considered the only fully sovereign city-state in the world, with its own currency and technologically advanced military forces.
After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers based on external trade, becoming the highest developed country in Asia.
Kaohsiung | |
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Kaohsiung City (; Mandarin Chinese: [káuɕjʊ̌ŋ] (listen); Wade–Giles: Kao¹-hsiung²) is a special municipality in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban centre to the rural Yushan Range with an area of 2,952 km2 (1,140 sq mi).
Kaohsiung city has a population of approximately 2.77 million people and is Taiwan's third most populous city and largest city in southern Taiwan.Since founding in the 17th century, Kaohsiung has grown from a small trading village into the political and economic centre of southern Taiwan, with key industries such as manufacturing, steel-making, oil refining, freight transport and shipbuilding. It is classified as a "Gamma -" level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, with some of the most prominent infrastructures in Taiwan.
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: Tʻai²-chung¹), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality...
Kuala Terengganu (Malaysian pronunciation: [ˈkuˈala ˈtəˈrəŋˈganu] Jawi: كوالا ترڠڬانو, Chinese:...
Dubai ( doo-BY; Arabic: دبي, romanized: Dubayy [dʊˈbajj], Gulf Arabic pronunciation: [dəˈbaj])...
Breda (, , Dutch: [breːˈdaː] (listen)) is a city and municipality in the southern part of the...