The Republic of Singapore is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying 137 kilometers north of the equator, and south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands.

Though Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast Asia, it boasts the 4th highest GDP at PPP according to a World Bank study in 2009. Facing numerous problems after the separation from Malaysia, Singapore has since gone from strength to strength. With the averages years of schooling standing at 9.7 years, Singapore can pride itself on a literacy rate of 96.3%. In 2005, Singapore was ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the best Asian country to live in. The Mercer study in 2010 similarily found Singapore to be the Asian country with the highest quality of living.