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Before
European settlement, the island now known as Singapore
was the site of a Malay fishing village at the mouth
of the Singapore River. Several hundred indigenous Orang
Laut people also lived along the nearby coast, rivers
and on smaller islands. In 1819 the British East India
Company established a trading post on the island, which
was used thereafter as a strategic trading post along
the spice route. Singapore would become one of the most
important commercial and military centres of the British
Empire, and the hub of British power in Southeast Asia.
The city was occupied by the Japanese during World War
II, which Winston Churchill called "Britain's greatest
defeat". Singapore reverted to British rule immediately
after the war, in 1945. Eighteen years later the city,
having achieved independence from Britain, merged with
Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. However,
less than two years later it seceded from the federation
and became an independent republic
Singapore
is an immigrant country with a long history of immigration.
It has a diverse population of close to 5 million people
made up of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Asians of various
descents and Caucasians. 42% of the population in Singapore
are foreigners and foreigners make up 50% of the service
sector in Singapore. The country is the second most
densely populated in the world after Monaco. A.T. Kearney
names Singapore as the most globalised country in the
world in its Globalization Index.
Prior
to independence in 1965, Singapore was a vibrant trading
port with a GDP per capita of $511, the third highest
in East Asia. After independence, foreign direct investment
and a state-led drive for industrialization based on
plans by former Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Goh Keng Swee
created a modern economy
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