“ A long long time ago, Singapore was just a small little fishing village located in Southeast Asia. Nicknamed the Lion City, Singapore has developed into a first world country renown for its variety of cuisines and racial diversity…”

These are probably what one will be told of when they first heard of the country, Singapore. Indeed, these are all true. Singapore prides itself as a first world nation from its humble beginnings as a small country with no natural resources. With the upcoming US-North Korea Summit on June 12, Singapore is once again taking center stage as the host of this historic event.

Before moving on, here are some facts that everyone should know about Singapore:

1. Singapore is NOT in China, or Europe! It has become a common joke among Singaporeans as many foreigners have zero clue about where Singapore is on the world map.

Nicknamed the Little Red Dot, Singapore is located in the heart of Southeast Asia. Its unique location has made it an important maritime hub for many vessels passing through the Strait of Malacca, making it one of the busiest port in the world. As of 2017, Singapore has a population of 5.6 million people (Approximately 3.95 million residents and 1.65 million non-residents) and a land area of 720 km². To put that into perspective, Singapore closest neighbor, Malaysia has a population of 32.3 million and a land area of 328,000km². U.S. has a population of 326.5 million people and a land area of 9,325,410 km². To conclude, Singapore is really really small!

2. Singapore used to be part of Malaysia. Singapore was a British colony until it was invaded and occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. In the aftermaths of the atomic bombing, Japan surrendered and Singapore was returned to the British, marking the end of 3 years of living hell. In 1963, Singapore merged with Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo to form the Federation of Malaysia. After two years of ups and down, citing political tension, Singapore left Malaysia, gaining independence on 9th August 1965.

3. Singapore has a list of weird laws, such as the ban on gums. Others include walking nude at home, heavy fines on littering (up to $1000 fine), graffiti (The famous case in 1994 when American Michael Fay was sentenced to six strokes of cane for vandalism) and of course, death penalty for drug-related offenses.

4. National Service. Singapore enforces conscription, meaning that all male Singaporean citizens and second-generation citizens have to serve a two-year stint in the military. In 1967, the same year that British troops were withdraw from Singapore, National Service was introduced. As a small country with little resources, such a mandatory national service was the only means to build a military presence in the region. Along the years, with a declining birth rate and a relatively small number of active military personnel, Singapore relied on its arsenal of advanced military technologies to maintain its defense policy of deterrence.

5. Singapore has some pretty impressive statistics and awards. As one of the richest nations in Asia, Singapore has a GDP per capita of S$79,697. Likewise, Singapore is ranked the world most expensive city for the fifth straight year. Singapore also boast the world most powerful passport, with a Visa-free score of 164. Changi Airport was also named the world’s best airport for the sixth consecutive year. More recently, Singapore was awarded the top spot in the Smart City Rankings, beating nations such as Dubai and London. We are also renown for our self-made acronyms as well as incredible patience when it comes to queuing for food and free stuff!

6. Singapore Racial Diversity. Singapore is a multi-racial,multi-religious society. Ethnic Chinese make up the majority of the population (76%), followed by Malays (14%), Indians (8%) and Others(2%) such as Eurasians. As such, there are four official languages in Singapore: English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. Malay is the national language while English is the working language. All around Singapore, one can see places of worship of different religions.