Ethnic Groups In Singapore

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By 1827, Chinese people had become the biggest ethnic group in Singapore. They consisted of a group called Peranakans, who were descendants of early Chinese settlers, and people who moved to Singapore from southern parts of China to escape poverty. Even more came after the Opium Wars. Many came to Singapore as poor indentured laborers. The Malays were the second largest ethnic group. They usually worked as fishermen, craftsmen, or as wage earners. By 1860, the Indians had surpassed Malays as the second largest group.

Despite Singapore 's growing influence, the administration governing the island was ineffective when it came to the welfare of the people, because they usually were from India and therefore unfamiliar with Singaporean culture and languages. While the population quadrupled from 1830 to 1867, the size of the civil service in Singapore hadn’t changed. Most people had no access health services and cholera and smallpox caused health problems, particularly in overcrowded working-class areas. In 1850, there were only twelve police officers in a city of nearly 60,000 people, which led to uncontrolled prostitution, gambling, and drug abuse. The situation caused concern from the European population of the island.

As Singapore …show more content…

Singapore is one of the original Four Asian Tigers along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. The 2013 Index of Economic Freedom ranks Singapore as the second freest economy in the world, behind Hong Kong. Singapore is consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, along with New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries. Singapore has the world 's highest percentage of millionaires, with one out of every six households having at least one million US dollars in disposable wealth. Singapore as a country has a “rags to riches” story – going from a country left chaotic and destitute by conflict to one of the richest and most influential countries

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