Singapore is a sovereign city-state and island country in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north. Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 square kilometres or 50 square miles). The country is known for its transition from third world to first world in a single generation, under the leadership of its founding father, Lee Kuan Yew.
The meteoric rise from politically unstable, resource-poor and unskilled ex-colony to the talent- and capital-hungry shipping hub (the world’s busiest) and, subsequently, Asia’s wealth management capital is brand engineering at its most ambitious.
Today, manifestations and confidence of this wealth and swagger are everywhere. From the heights of the cranes on the horizon to the gilded facades of Orchard Road, Singapore’s version of New York’s Fifth Avenue for high-end fashion and entertainment, Singapore knows its affluent global audience: moneyed wanderers who seek efficiency, security and exoticism. It’s why the city continues to smash visitation records 13.1 million international visitors touched down last year an 8.8% increase from 2015. Even more impressive? They spent more in Singapore, on average, than anywhere else in Asia.
Singapore is also among the top-ranking cities and has the lowest crime rate on the planet. It’s also for Parks & Outdoor Activities. The six-year-old Gardens by the Bay, consisting of several hundred acres of cultivated parkland on reclaimed urban land in downtown Singapore, are a mini Central Park. The 18 solar-powered “supertrees” each between 80 and 160 feet tall are now city icons.
So is Singapore the perfect city? Locals and visitors seem to think so and have propelled the city-state including Top 10 global finishes in Google Searches, Google Trends and Facebook check-ins.
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