Country Trading Profiles Singapore

Political outline | Living conditions | Useful resources | Communications

Political outline

Executive Power

President is the chief of the state. The role of the president is largely ceremonial. Following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition is usually appointed Prime Minister by the President as head of the government. Prime Minister enjoys the all the executive powers which include implementation of the law in the country and running the day-to-day affairs.

Legislative Power

The legislature is unicameral in Singapore . The Parliament consists of 84 seats: 9 members of parliament (MPs) are directly elected from single-member constituencies, and 75 are elected in teams of between four and six to represent the 15 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). In addition, there are up to nine nominated members.

Parliament is supreme to all other government. The government is dependent on the support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence.

Main political parties

Though Singapore is a multi-party nation, but practically it has been dominated by one-party which has been in power since its independence. It is PAP (People's Action Party).

Opposition parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. Some of the important opposition parties are:

- SDA (Singapore Democratic Alliance) – a common opposition alliance to fight PAP
- SDP (Singapore Democratic Party) – a liberal democratic party
- WP (Workers' Party of Singapore) – a party of industrial workers.

For more details, consult the list of the political parties in Singapour.

Current political leaders

President: Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 September 2011) - PAP
Prime Minister: LEE Hsien Loong (since August 2004) - PAP

Next election dates

Presidential: August 2017
Parliamentary: May 2017

Living conditions

Health and safety

Health precautions: Vaccination certificates are required for travellers who, within the preceding six days, have been in or passed through any country in which yellow fever is prevalent.
International hospitals: Singapore has many international quality hospitals. Doctors and Nurses in hospitals are well acquainted with English. Singapore health care costs are very high. Doctors and hospitals expect immediate payment for services. Patients are usually required to provide a deposit or guarantee of payment prior to admission.
For further information on sanitary conditions: Ministry of Health , Singapore
For further information on safety conditions: Visit the web site of Canadian Foreign Office
Visit the site of the US department of State
Singapore Tourism Board
Contact your Embassy: Honorary Consulate of Greece in Singapore
896 Dunearn Road, #04-08 Sime Darby Centre
Singapore 589472, Singapore
Phone: (0065) 68751205
Fax : (0065) 68751206
hellenic@pacific.net.sg

Emergency numbers

Police	999
Fire and Ambulance	995
Non Emergency Ambulance	1777

Time difference and climate

Time and time difference: It is %T:%M %A in Singapour (GMT+8)
Summer time period: None

Map of the time zone

Type of climate: Equatorial: warm and humid climate throughout the year. The temperature varies between 20°C and 35°C. Rainstorms are very common. The wettest period lasts from November to January and the driest from May to July.