Citing Dr Foo Loon Sung (here):
1. Singaporeans work the most number of hours per week in the world.
2. Most Singaporeans will never own a car because COEs are limited.
3. The Average home of a Singapore has fallen from 1660 sq feet to about 1000 sq feet in the past decades.
4. Fertility rate in Singapore has fallen to below Japan – among the lowest in the world.
5. Less than half the Singaporeans can meet the minimum sum for CPF retirement accounts. Meaning many will never retire.
6. 17% of Singaporeans do not have medical insurance – the highest in the developed world give and take a few % compared with USA.
7. Singapore has the fastest growing foreigner population per capita in the world. Within a decade, the majority of people in Singapore will be foreign born.
8. Singapore has the highest paid political leaders in the world….
9. Singapore has the highest income gap of all developed countries.
10. More than one person kills himself/herself every day.
11. Singaporeans have the highest savings rate in the world due to CPF but many still can’t retire.
12. The Singapore parliament has the fewest opposition in terms of % of seats in the world among countries that claim to be democratic…of course we are also democratic.
13. Singapore bans chewing gum but legalise casinos. Casinos are legalised in only 2 of the 50 American states.
14. Singapore hangs the most people per capita in the world. Even more than China….do believe this feller called Shadrake.
15. Singapore cars are the most expensive in the world.
16. Singaporeans have the lowest purchasing power among all developed countries according the UBS…even Malaysians in KL have higher purchasing power.
17. Singapore govt has the highest sovereign wealth fund per capita. ..and among the top few in absolute terms.
18. Singapore spends more on defence than Malaysia and Indonesia combined – so I guess we don’t need too much diplomacy and or diplomats, can afford to badmouth them according to wikileaks. Now that they know, we better spend a $100M extra this year on defence.
19. Singapore has the No.1 civil service in the world according to Minister Lim Swee Say. I want to add we also have No.1 civil service in terms of pay for the top echelon. Some can afford French cooking lessons.
20. Singapore has only one news paper company called SPH that produces hoards of quality papers such as Straits Times, Sin Min and other reading delights. We had 5 newspaper companies a few decades ago, I guess this business is in decline even as the population increases.
21. Singaporeans serve NS for 2-2.5 years, this is the longest in the world after Israel. We do it because we can afford the time. Many Singaporean workers will work their whole life without retirement anyway so what is the difference putting aside 2 years.
22. Singapore has the world’s oldest and wisest politician. His name is Lee Kuan Yew. As long as he is around, the good life for Singaporeans will continue. He will make sure of that.
23. Lee Kuan Yew’s son is Lee Hsien Loong who coincidentally became PM due to his own merit. His New Year Message this year asks Singaporeans to be more RESILIENT.
24. Singapore has the most expensive public housing in the world….but according to Minister Mah, it is still affordable.
Here appear occasional jottings of my random musings. Profound or jejune, they reveal the contours of my mental universe, with world history, intellectual history, civilizations, philosophy, religion, society, knowledge, and books as some major themes. Since May 2011, this blog has been exclusively focused on Singapore. All my other reflections are now posted in "Notes from Noosphere" (see link under "Miscellany" on the right margin).
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