Heard of the tiny red dot – Singapore, both a city and country in southeast asia?

I recently watched a YouTube video on “How to obtain a Singapore Passport as a Westerner”, which is about an interview with Yana has since converted to Singapore citizen. Before spending 15 years in Singapore, she lived in Russia, Zurich, and New York. She also shared some interesting insights of living in Singapore and eventually acclimating to its local culture.

For those who are unfamiliar about Singapore, here’s some quick info on Singapore:

• Singapore finally gained independence from the British Empire in 1963 by joining Malaysia along with Sabah and Sarawak, but separated two years later over ideological differences, becoming a fully sovereign state in 1965 (Southeast Asia Region);
• Singapore’s current population is ~5.64m;
• Singapore is categorized into four main ethnic groups: Chinese (~76.9%), Malays (~14.9%), Indians (~7.2%), and Others (~1.1%). In the “Other” category are ethnic groups such as the Eurasians, who are a people of mixed European and Asian ancestry;
• Singapore Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per Capita reached USD82,794.00 in December 2022;
• In 2021, it was ranked the third safest city in the world, losing out on the top spots to Tokyo and Copenhagen.
• Home Ownership Rate in Singapore increased to 88.90 percent in 2021 from 87.90 percent in 2020.
• Singapore is well-known for its high quality of education in the world, ranking higher than many countries like Canada and Switzerland. In fact, Singapore ranks top five in the world in PISA (a ranking based on tests taken by 15-year olds all across the world).

Especially due to the worsening of the U.S.-China relations and also Covid-19, Singapore has been in recent years become “sought” after by many businesses and even wealthy Asian families. Other reasons include strong regulatory environment and favourable tax incentives. If you have watched the film “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jon M. Chu, from a screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, based on the 2013 novel of the same title by Kevin Kwan), the flocking of these wealth might make the actual storyline come true.

Recently, you may be aware of the US congressional hearing of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on 24 March 2023. After the hearing, clips of the hearing gave Shou Zi Chew his 15 mins of fame on the internet. There were also online debates on his nationality, which he is Singapore Citizen.

Going back to the YouTube video, as a native-born Singaporean, there are some parts which I agree and disagree. Fortunately, most Singaporeans I know are fine with anyone with different views. This is largely due to our mutli-racial integration policies initiated by our Singapore Government when the Country became independent. That does not mean that Singapore total eradicate racism but it should be at its minimum versus other countries which are very prevalent.

If you are interested to know more about Singapore or need travel information to Singapore, you can reach out to me and happy to guide you to some websites. Alternatively, many people are also using ChatGPT to plan their travel itineraries.

Credits to:

• Singapore Department of Statistic
• #MaxChernov’s Youtube video – (13) How to Obtain a Singapore Passport as a Westerner – YouTube