SINGAPORE

Singapore, is an island city-state and the smallest country in Southeast Asia.The site of several ancient port cities and a possession of several empires in its history, Singapore was a fishing village sparsely populated by indigeneous Malays and Orang Lauts when it was colonized by the United Kingdom in 1819. It was occupied by the Japanese Empire during World War II, but reverted to British rule in 1945 and was later part of the merger which established Malaysia in 1963. When Singapore acquired independence in 1965, having few natural resources, it was sociopolitically volatile and economically undeveloped. Foreign investments and rapid government-led island-wide industrialization has since created an economy relying heavily on electronics and manufacturing exports and entrepôt trade centering around its strategic port position.
According to the quality-of-life index by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Singapore has the highest standard of living in Asia, and is ranked 11th in the world. In the United Nations Human Development Index, Singapore holds the 25th place, behind Japan, Hong Kong, and Israel in Asia. In terms of GDP per capita, Singapore is the 22nd wealthiest country.