What is Singapore National Day?
Singapore declared independence from Britain in August 1963. It joined the Federation of Malaysia in September 1963 after the 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore. Singapore left the federation two years later and gained its own sovereignty on 9 August 1965 when Yusof bin Ishak was sworn in as the first President of Singapore.
To celebrate the independence of Singapore, here are some interesting facts about Singapore.
10 Facts about National Day
Singapore is one of three surviving city-states (city, capital and state) in the world. The other two are Monaco and Vatican City.
Buildings in Singapore cannot be taller than 280 metres.
The largest fountain in the world is in Singapore. Located in Suntec City, it is estimated to have cost around US$6 million to build in 1997.
Singapore has four official languages: English, Chinese, Tamil, and Malay.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens contains the largest tropical orchid garden in the world.
Singapore is made up of 63 islands.
At 282 metres above ground level atop One Raffles Place, 1-Altitude is the highest outside rooftop bar in the world.
In Singapore you can get fined $150 for not flushing after you use the toilet.
Singapore was named Singapura, which means 'Lion City' in Sanskrit, by Sang Nila Utama, a Sumatran Prince after he thought he saw a lion on the island, though it was more likely to have been a tiger.
When time zones were first used, Singapore was set as seven hours and 30 mins ahead of GMT. In 1982, this was changed to eight Hours to bring the country into line with neighbouring regions.
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