UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)

3 June 1959; amended 1965 (based on pre-independence State of Singapore constitution)

Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

21 years of age; universal and compulsory

President Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 September 2011)

Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004); Deputy Prime Minister TEO Chee Hean (since 1 April 2009) and Deputy Prime Minister THARMAN Shanmugaratnam (since 21 May 2011); Senior Minister HENG Chee How (since 21 May 2011)

Appointed by president, responsible to parliament

President elected by popular vote for six-year term; election last held on 27 August 2011 (next to be held by August 2017); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by president; deputy prime ministers appointed by president

Tony TAN Keng Yam elected president from a field of four candidates with 35.2% of the votes cast

Unicameral Parliament (87 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; up to three losing opposition candidates who came closest to winning seats may be appointed as Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP)

Last held on 7 May 2011 (next to be held in May 2016)

Percent of vote by party - PAP 60.1%, WP 12.8%, NSP 12.1%, others 15%; seats by party - PAP 81, WP 6

Supreme Court consists of High Court and Court of Appeals; Specialist Commercial Courts consist of Admiralty Court, Intellectual Property Court, and Abritation Court

(chief justice, judges of appeal, and judicial commissioners are appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister)

National Solidarity Party or NSP [Hazel POA]; People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]; Reform Party [Kenneth JEYARETNAM]; Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong]; Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Workers' Party or WP [Sylvia LIM Swee Lian]

SDA includes Singapore Justice Party or SJP, Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS, Singapore People's Party or SPP

ADB, AOSIS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, EAS, FATF, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIT, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508

Two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle; red denotes brotherhood and equality; white signifies purity and virtue; the waxing crescent moon symbolizes a young nation on the ascendancy; the five stars represent the nation's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality

"Majulah Singapura" (Onward Singapore)

Adopted 1965; the anthem, which was first performed in 1958 at the Victoria Theatre, is sung only in Malay