Singapore, officially recognized as Republic of Singapore, is located in Southern Eastern Asia islands between Malaysia and Indonesia. Its geographical coordinates are 1 22 n, 103 48 E (Maps retrieved from Central Intelligence Agency, 2010).
It covers an area of 697 sq km with water mass covering 10 sq km, while land mass, 687 sq km, with 1.47 percent of the land being used for arable farming, 1.47 percent for permanent crops, 23 percent forest and nature reserve, while the rest 74.06 percent for other purposes. But, it has embarked on land reclamation projects and is estimated to increase its land area by 100 sq km by 2030.
Its cover area is about 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC and has a coastline stretching 193 km. Its climate is tropical, hot (with temperatures ranging from 22 to 34 °C), humid (at around 90 percent in the morning and 60 percent in the afternoon), rainy (two discrete monsoon seasons; North Eastern monsoon (December to March) and South Western monsoon (June to September)) (Table derived from Central Intelligence Agency, 2010).
Climate data for Singapore.
Source: Hong Kong Observatory.
Singapore is lowland with gradually elevating central plateau with water catchment areas and natural preserves. Singapore has signed several international environmental agreements including; Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes.
According to the Singapore Department of Statistics (2010), as of July 2010, its population was estimated at 5.081 million, with 3.7 million residents, of which 3.24 million were Singapore citizens and 0.55 million being permanent residents. “In populous rankings it is position 118. The total population showed a lower growth trend of 1.8% in 2010, reflecting a slower growth in the number of permanent residents and non residents from the last year.”
The birth rate is estimated at 8.82 births per 1000 people while the death rate 4.66 deaths per 1000 people. The median age of the resident people was 37.5 years, with the old-age support ratio (population aged 15 to 64 years/elderly aged 65 years and above) being 8.2 for the resident population. As of 2008, the infant mortality stood at 2.1 per 1000 people, life expectancy ay 78 years for males and 83.2 for females.
Singapore has a total workforce of 3 million people with 18.1 percent working in the manufacturing sector, 68.3 percent in the service industry and 12.9 percent in the construction industry. Of the total population, 74% are Chinese, Malays 13% and 9.2% being Indians. Majority of the population, 35 percent, speak Mandarin language, then 23 percent English, 14.1 percent Malay and the rest Chinese dialects.
The most practiced religions are Buddhists, Taoist, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. Literacy rates stood at 92.5 percent, with the government allocating 3.7 percent of the national GDP to education, as of 2001. Because of the varied population and presence of foreigners (who account for 42 percent of the population), Singapore has a multi cultur.
On the other hand U.S., the world’s third most populous country, has a population of 310 million (as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau), with a birth rate of 13.82/1000 population and a population growth rate of 0.98 percent. U.S. is a multicultural nation with an individualistic way of life. “It has a diverse population with 31 racial groups, the majority being White Americans, German Americans, Irish and English Americans.”
The CIA World Factbook estimates the U.S. land cover to be approximately 9.8 sq km. It has a varied climate with humid continental in the north and humid sub-tropical in the south.” Consumer prices in U.S. are 15.37 percent higher than in Singapore while the Local Purchasing Power in United States is 63.3 percent higher than in Singapore (Adamovic, 2010).
Singapore has a well established free market economy, which greatly relies on exports and adding value imported products, particularly the manufacturing industry, which in 2005 constituted 26 percent of its Gross National Product.
As of 2009, Singapore exports were estimated at US$274.5 billion, positioned 14th in the world’s exporters list. Singapore’s exports are mainly machinery and equipments, consumer commodities, pharmaceuticals and mineral fuels. Its main export affiliates are Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, U.S., S. Korea and Japan.
Its import market is worth US$240.5 billion, with its principal imports being machinery, mineral fuels, foodstuffs and consumer commodities. Its import partners include US, Malaysia, China, Japan, Indonesia, S. Korea and Taiwan. Singapore was the thirtieth biggest trading partner of the U.S. in 2009 with re-exports accounting for 48.9 percent of Singapore’s total exports in 2009.
While its counterpart, the U.S., is the largest importer of products and the 3rd largest exporter, although its exports-per-capita are relatively low.
According to the International Monetary Fund, “the U.S. GDP of $14.4 trillion constitutes 24% of the gross world product at market exchange rates and almost 21% of the gross world product at purchasing power parity (PPP)” (Adamovic, 2010). As of 2009 had exports approximately US$1.05 billion with agricultural goods, industrial supplies, capital goods and consumer commodities being its principal exports.
Its export partners are Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, UK, and Germany. U.S. import market is estimated at 1.56 trillion with most the imports being from China, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Germany (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010). Its main import commodities are agricultural goods, industrial supplies, capital goods and consumer products. Currently, the direct quote for the Singapore dollar against the US dollar is 1:1.34.
In conclusion Singapore provides a good business environment. Although the cost of business there is a bit higher, but the well developed economic system, makes it easier to conduct business and offers a potential for growth. The highly educated population provides the necessary work force in the relevant industries.
Reference List
Adamovic, M. (2010). Cost Of Living Comparison. Numbeo. Web.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2010). Singapore. The World Factbook. Web.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2010). United States. The World Factbook. Web.
Singapore Department of Statistics. (2010). Press Release. Census of population 2010 advance census release. Web.