Basic Fact

Full country name Republic of Singapore Area 683 square kilometers  Population 4.1 million (growth rate 1.5%) People 77% Chinese, 14% Malay, 8% Indian Language English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil Religion 42% Buddhist, 15 % Muslim, 14% Christian, 9% Taoist, 4% Hindu Government Parliamentary democracy President SR Nathan Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong Visas Most Western nationals either do not require a visa at all or do not require a visa for a social stay of up to 90 days. A 30-day permit is issued on arrival, and extensions are difficult to obtain. Health Risk Hepatitis A Time GMT/UTC+8 Electricity 220-240V, 50 Hz Weight & Measures Metric with local variations Opening Hours Shopping centers open daily 10am–7.30pm; banks open at least Monday to Friday 10am–3pm, Saturday 9.30am–1pm; while offices generally work Monday to Friday 8.30am–5pm and sometimes on Saturday mornings. In general, Chinese temples open daily from 7am to around 6pm, Hindu temples from 6am to noon and 5 to 9pm and mosques from 8.30am to noon and 2.30pm to 4pm. Money Singapore's currency is Singapore dollars which has denominations of S$1, S$2, S$5, S$10, S$20, S$50, S$100, S$500, S$1000 and S$10,000; coins are in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and S$1. The current exchange rate is around 1.75S$ to 1US$. Credit cards are widely accepted by establishments in Singapore; be cautious of any surcharge.

Remark: Due to recent outbreaks of the SARS virus in Asian countries, the travel advisory was announced from the WHO to take precautions on trips to the affected countries including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, and Singapore. However, after launching many preventive measures to control the virus outbreak, Singapore has now came into the normal situation and was given all-clear by the WHO. The following is the message for travelers to Singapore from Singapore Tourism Board: "We are pleased to inform all travelers that Singapore has been taken off the World Health Organization's ("WHO") Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ("SARS") affected countries list. Life has returned to normal and Singaporeans have been stepping out to eat, shop, and enjoy all of the things that Singapore is famous for. In the coming weeks, we will be launching a number of marvelous events and incentives which may inspire you to travel back to our lion city."