Weather
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.
Terrain
Lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve.
Currency
Singapore Dollar (SGD)
Languages
Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official)
Religion
Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist
Ethnic groups
Chinese 76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4%
History
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 the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
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