Country Profile: Singapore
21 August 2017
Quick facts
Population: 5.7 million
Size: 719kmsq
Capital city: None
Year of independence: 1965
Currency: Singapore dollar (S$1 = NZ$0.99)
National airline: Singapore Airlines
Culture
Official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil
Main ethnic groups: Chinese (70%), Malay (13%), Indian (9%), Other (3%)
Religion: Buddhist (33%), Christian (18%), No religion (17%), Muslim (15%), Taoist (11%), Hindu (5%)
Median age: 34 years
Politics
Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong, leader of the People’s Action Party (Facebook, Twitter)
Deputy Prime Minister(s): Teo Chee Hean, Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Ministries: Communications And Information; Culture, Community and Youth; Defence; Education; Finance; Foreign Affairs; Health; Home Affairs; Law; Manpower; National Development; Social And Family Development; Environment and Water Resources; Trade and Industry; Transport
Media
News media: While the state has firm control over the press, Singapore has a bustling media space.
The Online Citizen (citizen media)
Blogs: Singapore is home to a diverse blogging community, the most popular include:
mrbrown (comedy, culture, tech)
LadyIronChef (food and travel)
DanielFoodDiary (food)
Miss TamChiak (food and travel)
Parka Blogs (art books, reviews)
Bilateral relations
Singapore is one of New Zealand’s top defence partners in the Asia-Pacific, and our ninth largest trading partner. New Zealand’s free-trade agreement with Singapore — the ANZSCEP, signed by former prime ministers Helen Clark and Goh Chok Tong in 2000 — is one of our most comprehensive.
Singaporeans in New Zealand
2013 Census: 5,370 Singapore-born residents
Tourism
Year ending June 2013: 37,696 visitors from Singapore
Year ending June 2017: 57,696 visitors from Singapore
Tourist profile: Traditional peak travel seasons for Singapore residents are from mid-November to the end of December; the last week of May to the last week of June; Chinese New Year; Hari Raya in July or October; and Deepavali in early November. The majority of Singaporean travellers prefer free independent travel over group tours (source: Tourism New Zealand).
Useful links
Kiwis in Singapore
New Zealand High Commission Singapore
Australian and New Zealand Association
Singaporeans in New Zealand
New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Singapore
Singapore Students’ Association (Auckland)
Contact: ssa.auckland@gmail.com
– Asia Media Centre
