Expat Living in Singapore
Living as an expat in Singapore is easy as Singapore is a highly developed and urbanized country, with a large international community. English is one of the four official languages in Singapore and it is the language used by the business community, government, school and communication between different ethnic groups. The other official languages are Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Moreover, of the 5.18 million people living in Singapore, 37% of them are foreigners. Therefore, there is a large international community living, working and studying in Singapore. Foreigners from Asia, America and Europe account for the bulk of the international community in Singapore.
Singapore, formally known as the Republic of Singapore, is a small, independent and densely populated island state in Southeast Asia. It consists of 63 islands, of which most of them do not have people living on them. Its two closest neighbours are Malaysia and Indonesia. Although Singapore is a highly developed, urbanized and densely populated country, almost 50% of its land area is covered in greenery.
Singapore does not have any natural disaster. It is one of the 4 Asian Tigers, and is one of the top leading financial centres of the world according to the 2012 Global Financial Centres Index compiled by the London-based British think-tank Z/Yen. Singapore has a massive oil refining operation ranking the third largest in the world. Its port is one of the most used in the world. Singapore has the busiest transhipment port in the world. Singapore is popular due to the ease in which business practices can be conducted according to a 2011 World Bank report. It has one of the world’s cleanest governments according to a Transparency International Survey.
Singapore is an immigration society, with the main bulk of its population migrated to the republic in the 19th century, during the British colony period. The biggest ethnic group of its local population is of the Chinese descent, with Malay and Indian as the biggest minority group and the second biggest minority group respectively. Singapore’s weather is mild all year round ranging from 23 ?C (usually at night or during raining season) to 32 ?C, with the sun shining throughout the year. However, since it is in the tropical rainforest region, the humidity is high compared to countries, not in the rainforest region.
Singapore practices tolerance in religion and as a result, it has several types of religion, of which Buddhism is widely practised at 33% because of its prevalent Chinese population. Other religions practised by its population are Christianity, non-religious, Islam (mostly practised by the Malays), Taoism (practised by the Chinese) and Hinduism (practised by the Indian).
Cars are expensive in Singapore, and most of its population take the public transport. This is highly encouraged by the government. Singapore has one of the best public transport systems in the world. Type of public transport in Singapore includes rapid train (MRT – Mass Rapid Transit & LRT – Light Rail Transit), bus and taxi. Living in Singapore can be expensive as it is the 8th most expensive city in the world according to a 2011 Mercer survey.
Read more details about Move to Singapore and Singapore Employment.
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