About Singapore
Singapore is an island nation situated at the southern tip of the West Malaysian Peninsula and approximately 137 kilometers north of the equator. The climate in Singapore is therefore tropical. Its current size of 704.0 km² is a moving target due to tremendous efforts in land reclamation which is adding significant usable space to this smallest country in South East Asia.
Established as a trading post by the British East India Company in 1819, it was at the time merely a small Malay Fishing Village. During the Second World War, Singapore was briefly occupied by Japan and reverted back to British Rule in 1945. In 1963, Singapore was merged with what was then Malaya to form Malaysia (hence the “s” in that country’s name up to today). Less than two years later, it split from the federation and became an independent nation.