Country Profile: Singapore

Quick facts

Population: 5.7 million
Size: 719kmsq
Capital city: None
Year of independence: 1965
Currency: Singapore dollar (S$1 = NZ$0.99)
National airline: Singapore Airlines

Culture

Official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil
Main ethnic groups: Chinese (70%), Malay (13%), Indian (9%), Other (3%)
Religion: Buddhist (33%), Christian (18%), No religion (17%), Muslim (15%), Taoist (11%), Hindu (5%)
Median age: 34 years

Politics

Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong, leader of the People’s Action Party (Facebook, Twitter)
Deputy Prime Minister(s): Teo Chee Hean, Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Ministries: Communications And Information; Culture, Community and Youth; Defence; Education; Finance; Foreign Affairs; Health; Home Affairs; Law; Manpower; National Development; Social And Family Development; Environment and Water Resources; Trade and Industry; Transport

Media

News media: While the state has firm control over the press, Singapore has a bustling media space.

• The Straits Times
• TODAY
• Business Times
• The Online Citizen (citizen media)

Blogs: Singapore is home to a diverse blogging community, the most popular include:

• mrbrown (comedy, culture, tech)
• LadyIronChef (food and travel)
• DanielFoodDiary (food)
• Miss TamChiak (food and travel)
• Parka Blogs (art books, reviews) 
  
  

Bilateral relations

Singapore is one of New Zealand’s top defence partners in the Asia-Pacific, and our ninth largest trading partner. New Zealand’s free-trade agreement with Singapore — the ANZSCEP, signed by former prime ministers Helen Clark and Goh Chok Tong in 2000 — is one of our most comprehensive. 

Singaporeans in New Zealand

2013 Census: 5,370 Singapore-born residents

Tourism

Year ending June 2013: 37,696 visitors from Singapore

Year ending June 2017: 57,696 visitors from Singapore

Tourist profile: Traditional peak travel seasons for Singapore residents are from mid-November to the end of December; the last week of May to the last week of June; Chinese New Year; Hari Raya in July or October; and Deepavali in early November. The majority of Singaporean travellers prefer free independent travel over group tours (source: Tourism New Zealand).

Useful links

Kiwis in Singapore

New Zealand High Commission Singapore

• Website | Facebook 
• Contact: +65 6235 9966, enquiries@nz-high-com.org.sg

Australian and New Zealand Association

• Website | Facebook | Twitter 
• Contact: +65 6223 7992, info@anza.org.sg

Singaporeans in New Zealand

New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Singapore

• Website | Facebook | Twitter
• Contact: +65 6235 7119, info@nzchamber.org.sg

Singapore Students’ Association (Auckland)

• Facebook
• Contact: ssa.auckland@gmail.com

– Asia Media Centre