A: Singapore lies on the geographical coordinates of 1° 22' 0" N, 103° 48' 0" E.

Latitude and Longitude of Singapore in other units:

More detail about Singapore

Singapore Benefits from Great Geographical Location

Location can be everything for a country and it certainly works well for Singapore. Southeast Asia is a small place but Singapore gives this area a lot of meaning. It is located on the major sea lanes and it has a very industrious population.

Singapore gained independence in 1965 and had to overcome the difficulties of a small domestic market as well as the lack of physical resources. To make the economy work, the government introduced the attitude and economy of pro-business, pro-foreign investment plus an economic policy that was friendly to international exports. They also created a number of government-owned corporations.

This combination proved to be a success and there was a growth of over seven percent between the year of independence and 2009. The economy did suffer the consequences of the outbreak of SARS as well as the global slump in the electronics industry but they bounced back every time. They increased their exports of pharmaceuticals and other types of manufactured goods to make up for their losses. The country built better relations with the United States, Japan, and the European Union and increased their trade.

Singapore saw another large obstacle when the global financial crisis hit in 2008 and 2009. It suffered the most in the last two quarters of 2008 and in early 2009 but as the year went on, they recovered. The rest of 2009, the country did fairly well with the economy. They expect to see growth in the coming year.

Much of their resilience to the obstacles that hit pertains to the skilled trades-people, the efficient infrastructure, foreign investments and their location. With such access to the sea lanes and excellent skills, they have great potential and seem to be taking advantage of that. In the coming years, it is likely that they will see more success.