Singapore

Singapore is a sovereign city-state and island country located off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometers (85 mi) north of the equator in Southeast Asia. The country consists of one main island along with 63 other smaller islands. Singapore has a total population of 5.6 million people, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

The founding father and first Prime Minister for Singapore was Lee Kuan Yew who led his nation from 1959–90 during which time he established strong economic ties with its neighbors such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand while also developing infrastructure to support international trade such as ports and airports. Because of this work done by PM Lee Kuan Yew, today Singapore is considered an East Asian success story due to its modern economy that relies heavily on technology services exports like semiconductors or financial services rather than natural resources like oil or gas products; it ranks highly on measures such as per capita income, life expectancy at birth and Human Development Index among others compared to other nations around the world despite being so small geographically speaking – even ranking higher than Japan or France according to some metrics!

Singapore has been ruled by several different empires over its history including those from Srivijaya Empire until 1819 when British colonization began; independence did not come until 1965 but since then it has become increasingly prosperous under various governments that have focused specifically upon maintaining strong diplomatic relations both domestically across ethnic lines between Chinese Malaysians & Indian Tamils – something unique about this nation relative to many regions within South/Southeast Asia where conflict can sometimes arise due lack thereof – as well providing access educational opportunities abroad through institutions like National University etc… As part result these policies coupled with free enterprise system created after World War II saw rapid growth throughout late 20th century into 21st Century leading up current status quo where living standard remains high consistent basis regardless political climate surrounding them: This why foreign investments continue pour into region despite any potential instability issues may exist elsewhere nearby countries because investors know will remain safe place their money long term if they choose do business here instead somewhere else less reliable economically speaking!