#Newsflash: 10 Interesting Facts About Singapore

Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in the early 19th century. It gained self governance from the United Kingdom in 1959, and in 1963 joined the Federation of Malaysia. In 1965, it left the federation and became independent as the Republic of Singapore.

Today, Singapore is a bustling metropolis in Southeast Asia and home to one of the world's busiest ports. The vast majority of its 5.7 million citizens live on the eponymous capital island.

Here are 10 interesting facts about Singapore.

1. Singapore is one of three city-states in the world. The other two are Monaco and Vatican City.

2. Singapore's territory includes one main island and 62 smaller islets.

3. One of the world's smallest countries by territory, Singapore is about 3 1/2 times the size of Washington, D.C.

4. The name Singapore originates from the Malay word "Singapura" that's used for the country, which in turn was derived from Sanskrit and translates as "Lion City." A prince from Sumatra founded the Kingdom of Singapura at the end of the 13th century, after he believed he spotted a tiger on the land. It is unlikely, however, that lions have ever roamed the territory.

5. Reflecting the country's ethnic diversity, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Malay is designated as the nation's national language.

6. Buddhism is the country's most widely practiced religion, followed by Christianity, Islam, Taoism and Hinduism.

7. Singapore features one UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site: the Singapore Botanic Gardens, founded in 1859 when Singapore was a colony of the British Empire. One of three gardens in the world to carry the UNESCO designation, the gardens played a major role in Southeast Asia's rubber trade boom in the early 20th century.

8. The world's largest limbo dance took place on Oct. 1, 2011, in Singapore and involved 1,208 children, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

9. Singapore's Constitution guarantees freedom of speech. However, the constitution allows the government to limit that freedom with "such restrictions as it considers necessary or expedient." The government says its restrictions are necessary to ensure social harmony between the country's many ethnic groups.

10. The media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders ranks Singapore No. 151 out of 180 countries evaluated in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index, two positions lower than Russia.



Source from MSN News