Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign city-state and island country in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia’s Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north. Singapore’s territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 square kilometres or 50 square miles).

Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub. It has been recognized as the most “technology-ready” nation (WEF), top International-meetings city (UIA), city with “best investment potential” (BERI), world’s smartest city,[8] world’s safest country,[9][10] third-most competitive country, third-largest foreign exchange market, third-largest financial centre, third-largest oil refining and trading centre and the second-busiest container port. The country has also been identified as a tax haven. In 2018, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Singapore for the fifth year in a row as the most expensive city to live in the world.[11] Singapore is the only country in Asia with an AAA credit rating from all of the world’s major rating agencies, and one of the only few countries worldwide. Furthermore, its port and Changi Airport have held the titles of “Best Maritime Port” and “Best Airport” respectively for consecutive years.