10 Unique Facts About Singapore

Written by: Poppy Skinner Created: 14 February 2018

We all know that Singapore has a rich and varied history but did you know these 10 unique facts? 

1. Singapore is one of the smallest countries in the world. The total land area is just over 683 square kilometres. 

2. The Singapore Flyer now rotates in a clockwise direction but when it first opened in 2008, it was counter-clockwise. It was changed shortly after opening on the advice of Feng Shui masters. 

3. Singapore can only boast one award from the Camera d'Or at Cannes Film Festival. The award went to Ilo Ilo in 2013.

4. Opening in 2016, The Tanjong Pagar Centre, is Singapore’s tallest building, but just. At 290 metres high, special permission was granted for the centre to go above the usual height restriction of 280 metres. 

5. While we all know Singapore is famed for its wildlife, did you know that it is home to Sunda pangolins or in layman's terms, scaly anteaters. Mostly found in the central area, each adult can eat a whopping 70 million insects per year - let's hope most of those are mosquitos. 

6. Singapore is well-known across the globe to be one of the cleanest countries in the world so it comes as no surprise to hear that the World Toilet Organisation was founded right here and has its headquarters here.  The point of the World Toilet Organisation? Put simply, it's a global non-profit organisation aiming to improve toilet conditions across the world. 

7. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Singapore was a jumper-needing 19.4 degrees celcius. 

8. For a small country, Singapore has a lot of roads, with more than 3,000 kilometres pure driving space. When stretched from end to end, that would cover the distance from here to Hong Kong.

9. Singapore's oldest bridge was built in 1869 and is the Cavenagh Bridge. It is still in use to this day and still has the original sign warning that horses and cattle are not allowed to cross - just in case you were thinking of it. 

10. Did you know that Singapore is made up of the main island of Singapore and 60 smaller islands includes Pulau Ubin, Pulau Biola, Pulau Jong? 

 Talking of Singapore, here are the best new bars for 2018 so far.  

Written by: Poppy Skinner

Poppy covers a wide range of topics at Billionaire, having spent the past 13 years at companies including Singapore Tatler, Her World Plus and Harpers Bazaar UK. She has a passion for fashion, jewellery and travel as well as an avaricious fascination with crime novels. Follow her at poppypskinner on Instagram.