Singapore

The main languages spoken in Singapore are:
English - an official language, spoken most frequently at home by ~48.3% of the population, and used in business and education.
Mandarin - an official language, spoken by ~29.9%, with other Chinese dialects (Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka) spoken by ~8.7%.
Malay - an official language, spoken by ~9.2%.
Tamil - an official language, spoken by ~2.5%.
English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil are all official languages of Singapore.

Geography

Location: Southeastern Asia, an island city-state between Malaysia and Indonesia

Map references: Southeast Asia

People

Population: 6,040,000-6,111,200 (2024-2025 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 13.60%
15-64 years: 67.62%
65 years and over: 18.78% (2025)

Median age: 42.8 years

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 83.5 years
male: 81.2 years
female: 85.6 years (2024)

Infant mortality rate: 2.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024)

Nationality:
noun/adjective: Singaporean(s)

Ethnic groups: Chinese 74.3-75.5%, Malay 13.4-15.1%, Indian 7.6-9%, Eurasian and others 1.8-3.2% (individuals self-identify into four categories)

Religions: Buddhism 42%, Christianity 22.2%, Islam 17.3%, Taoism 12.3%, Hinduism 6.2%

Languages: English (official) 48.3%, Mandarin (official) 29.9%, other Chinese dialects (Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka) 8.7%, Malay (official) 9.2%, Tamil (official) 2.5%, other 1.4% (2020 est.; language most frequently spoken at home)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore

Data code: SN

Government type: parliamentary republic

National capital: Singapore

Economy

Economy - overview: advanced, high-income economy; open, corruption-free environment with stable prices; per capita GDP among the highest in the world; heavily dependent on exports (electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, medical/optical devices, pharmaceuticals) and a vibrant transportation, business, and financial services sector; a founding member of the ASEAN Economic Community (2015); government working to reduce dependence on foreign labor and raise productivity amid an aging population

GDP (purchasing power parity): $982.48 billion (2026 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.0% (2025)

GDP - per capita: $161,470 PPP (2026 est.) - 1st in the world by this measure

Inflation rate: 0.9% (April 2025)

Unemployment rate: 2.8% (2025 est.); very low

Labor force: 3,843,513 (2021)

Currency: Singapore dollar (SGD)