Singapore

Singapore is a clean and orderly island-city state. Multicultural shopping paradise & gastronomic melting pot offset by stringent rules and regulations. Made up of 63 islands, Singapore is the smallest country in Southeast Asia, yet highly urbanized. Population is around 5 million, Chinese, Malay and Tamil are the official languages. Singapore had been a part of various local empires since it was first inhabited in the second century AD. Modern Singapore was founded as a trading post of the East India Company by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 with permission from the Sultanate of Johor. The British obtained full sovereignty over the island in 1824 and Singapore became one of the British Straits Settlements in 1826. Singapore was occupied by the Japanese in World War II and reverted to British rule after the war. It became internally self-governing in 1959. Singapore united with other former British territories to form Malaysia in 1963 and became a fully independent state two years later after separation from Malaysia.