Singapore

A city expelled from its own country that became one of the richest states on earth in a single generation. The island was a minor settlement when Stamford Raffles established a British trading post in 1819, and its free port at the narrowest point of the straits drew Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arab traders until it became the great entrepot of Southeast Asia. Its fall to Japan in February 1942, with over eighty thousand troops surrendering, was the largest capitulation in British military history and destroyed imperial prestige across Asia; the Sook Ching massacre followed. Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963 and was expelled in August 1965 over irreconcilable positions on race and economics, becoming independent against its own wishes with no natural resources and no hinterland. Lee Kuan Yew's government built public housing that now holds most of the population, made English the language of instruction while keeping mother tongues compulsory, and combined an open economy with tight political and social control that has kept one party in power throughout. Income per head is among the highest in the world. The port is among the busiest. Water is imported and increasingly recycled. The country has about six million people on seven hundred and thirty square kilometres, much of it reclaimed. English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil are all official, with Malay the national language. It is one of only three surviving city-states. Chewing gum sales were restricted in 1992. The Botanic Gardens are a World Heritage site. Changi is consistently rated among the best airports in the world and is a major transfer hub.

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