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| Singapore (Republic of Singapore) |
State in Southeast Asia, located on the island of the same name and a number of small islands at the southern tip of the Malacca Peninsula. Territory - 581.5 sq. km. Population - 2.37 million (1980); 76% are Chinese, 15% are Malays, about 7% are Indians. The capital is Singapore (1.2 million inhabitants). The official languages are Malay, Chinese, English and Tamil. Singapore was founded in the 7th century, for a long time it was a vassal territory of the Indonesian sultans. At the beginning of the XVI century. was captured by Portugal, in the 17th century. passed to Holland, from 1824 became the possession of England. In 1942-45. occupied by Japan. In 1963 he became part of the newly formed Federation of Malaysia (see Malaysia). I Since August 1965 - an independent state. Singapore is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Having proclaimed a policy of non-alignment and development of relations with all countries, the Singapore government maintains diplomatic and trade relations with the USSR and other socialist states. The head of state is the President (since 1971 - Dr. Benjamin Henry Sheers), elected by Parliament for a 4-year term. He appoints the prime minister (since 1959 - Lee Kuan 10) and ministers. The unicameral parliament is elected for 5 years. The Popular Action Party (MAP) is the ruling party, founded in 1954. In the 1976 elections, it retained all its seats in parliament. Supports the development of the economy with the attraction of foreign capital, for the maintenance of mutually beneficial relations with all countries. The chairman of the PNM is To Chin Chyeo, the general secretary is Lee Kuan Yew. The United People's Front (established in 1974), the Workers' Party (1971), the Socialist Front (1961), the Liberal Socialist Party (1956) are also active. .) and etc. The trade union center - the National Congress of Trade Unions - was founded in 1961 and unites the bulk of trade union members in the country. An important component of the economy is foreign trade, mainly re-exports and services. In 1978, exports amounted to 23 billion Sing. dollars, imports - 29.6 billion. Up to 40% of the turnover falls on rubber, oil and oil products. Traditional export products are light industry products, footwear, and more recently also industrial. equipment. Major trading partners: Japan, USA, Malaysia, England, China, Saudi Arabia. There are more than 1.5 thousand industrial companies in Singapore. enterprises, mainly for the processing of oil and rubber, as well as electronic, electrical, mechanical engineering, ship repair and light industries, for the production of optics. In 1978, 5.9 billion kWh of electricity were produced. Tourism provides significant income. Foreign investments amount to $ 3 billion (1979) - 60% of all capital investments. The main investors are the monopolies of the USA, England and Japan. Singapore has one of the world's largest modern seaports (in 78 about 74 million g of cargo was handled), an international airport, which is used by over 20 airlines, including Aeroflot; the length of highways is over 2 thousand km. The monetary unit is the Singapore dollar. 100 sing. USD = = 29.62 rubles. (February 1980).
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