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Singapore: Government

Key Figures

Chief of State:
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong

Overview

Government Name:
Republic of Singapore
Constitution:
Adopted: 1965; This constitution exercises the concept of original jurisdiction, meaning the power to hear cases for the first time in the case of the High Court. This constitution is considered to be the supreme law of the land for the country of Singapore. Basic topics such as the structure and functions of the government are also covered in detail.
Government Type:
Parliamentary Republic
Republic of Singapore Flag
Coat of Arms of Republic of Singapore

Index of Economic Freedom

Grades each country on a scale of 0 to 100, based on ten freedoms, with 100 representing the greatest amount of economic autonomy from government intervention. Source: Heritage Foundation (2023)

Country Risk Rating

A2
The political and economic situation is good. A basically stable and efficient business environment nonetheless leaves room for improvement. Corporate default probability is low on average. Source: Coface (2022)

Government Branches

Main Powers Election Process Election Cycle 1
Executive

Responsible for the general direction of the government and accountable to the parliament.

President is elected by plurality vote and prime minister is appointed by the president.

6 years
Judicial

Administers justice independently of influence from other branches of government.

Appointed by president

Life appointment
Legislative

Responsible for enacting legislation.

12 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies, 75 members are elected through a group representation constituency (GRC) system, 9 members are nominated by the President and 3 members are appointed from a national compensatory list.

5 years

Regional Trade Blocs
APEC
ASEAN
TPP

International Organization Participation [2]

Environmental Agreements [3]

Tax Information [2]

Tax Authority:
Information not available
Tax Name:
Information not available

Sources:

  1. ElectionGuide http://www.electionguide.org/
  2. EY, http://www.ey.com
  3. CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/
  4. U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/