1.1 Singapore facts

The Judiciary : The Supreme Court and the Subordinate Courts

The Judiciary administers the law independently of the Executive and this independence is safeguardedby the Constitution.

For more information, visit: SINGOV .

Education

General Literacy rates (15 years and over) (2002): 93.7%

Literacy in two or more languages: 56%

Economy

Singapore, a highly developed and successful free market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-freeenvironment, stable prices, and a high per capita GDP. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics andmanufacturing.

• GDP (purchasing power parity): $109.4 billion (2003)
• GDP – real growth rate: 1.1% (2003)
• GDP – per capita purchasing power parity: $23,700 (2003)
• GDP - composition by sector: (2003)
  • Agriculture: negligible
  • Industry: 32.2%
  • Services: 67.8%

Major industries: Shipping, banking, tourism, electrical&electronics, chemicals, and oil refining.

Major trading partners: US, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan

Employment

Labour force: 2,128,500

Employed persons: 2,017,400 (Males: 1,137,100; Females: 880,300)

Unemployment rate: 4.4%

Central Provident Fund : A social security savings scheme in which all employees and their employers contribute apercentage of their salary. Employees below 55 years contribute 20%while employers contribute 13%. Employees 55 years and above contribute at lower rates. In addition to providing security forold age, this fund can also be used for healthcare, home ownership and asset enhancement.

There are 3 million CPF members and their CPF balance stood at S$100.28 billion (as at 30 June 2003)

Wage policies : The National Wages Council made up of representatives from the government, employers groups&trade unions advises the government on wage policies, and issuesguidelines in line with long-term economic objectives. There are 70 registered employees' trade unions and 3 employer unions and onefederation of employee trade union, National Trade Union Congress (NTUC). NTUC works closely with the government and business sectorto look after workers' interest.

Transportation

Port statistics (2002): Total no. of vessels calling at the Singapore port is 142,745

Airport statistics (up to 2002):

• Total no. of aircraft movements: 174,820
• Total passenger movements: 29 million

Total number of vehicles in Singapore (2002): 706,956 (of which 406,589 are cars and rental cars)

Forms of public transport : MRT, LRT, Bus, Taxi services

Communications

Forms of communications (June 2003):

• Total no. of mobile phone users: 3,336,400 (80.1%)
• Total no. of pager subscribers: 222,100 (5.3%)
• Residential telephone lines: 1,915,700 (45.9%)

Total no. of Internet dial-up subscribers : 2,025,700 (48.7%)

Mass media

• No. of local newspaper: 10 dailies with an average combined circulation of about 1.5 million (as of Oct 2001)
• No. of foreign publications, journals&magazines: 5,500
• No. of TV broadcasters: 2 groups (MediaCorp, SPH MediaWorks)
• No. of radio broadcasters: 6 (MediaCorp Radio, UnionWorks, SAFRA Radio, National Arts Council, Redifussion and BBC WorldService)
• No. of TV cable operator: 2 (Singapore Cable Vision, StarHub)
• No. of radio channels (domestic): 18
• No. of free terrestrial TV channels: 3
• Cable TV subscribership: 341,907 persons of 31.83% of all cabled homes (as at 31 Oct 2002)
• Internet dial-up penetration rate: 48.7% (as at June 2003)
• Cable modem subscribers: 93,967 (Those who subscribed to SCV MaxOnline service to access Internet) (as of 31 Oct 2002)
• ADSL subscribers: 108,600 (as at 31 Oct 2002)
• No. of broadband users: 34% or 950,000 Singapore residents, 10 years or above (Survey on Broadband Usage, 2001)