Singapore 

Introduction

The Republic of Singapore is a city-state in south-east Asia. Its population is 4,553,009 and its land area is 648 sq km. 

Singapore is a democratic republic. The head of state is the non-executive president who is directly elected for a term of six years. 

The head of government is the prime minister, who is the leader of the majority party and is appointed by the president. Cabinet is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister from amongst the unicameral parliament. 

Parliament consists of 84 popularly elected members elected either from the 9 single-member constituencies, or the 15 group representation constituencies. A further six may be nominated to parliament with speaking rights and voting rights on all resolutions not pertaining to finances or the constitution. Elections are based on universal suffrage of those over 21 years of age. 

Summary

There is no local government. The community development councils (CDCs) provide local administration. They are governed by a board of between 12 and 20 members, including a mayor. They are responsible for initiating, planning and managing community programmes and social animation. The CDCs provide various community and social assistance services delegated from the ministries.  

In 2005 it was estimated that there were 2.4 million internet users, representing 54 per cent of the population. 

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