The Parliament serves as the legislative branch of government. Members of Parliament (MPs) are made up of elected, non-constituency and nominated members. Elected MPs are voted into parliament on a "first-past-the-post" (plurality) system and represent either single-member or group-representation constituencies. Elections are free, and the People's Action Party has won control of Parliament with large majorities in every election since self-governance in 1959. In the most recent parliamentary elections in 2020, the largest opposition, led by the Workers' Party, increased its representation in the House to 10 elected MPs out of 93.
The legal system of Singapore is based on English common law, however with large and important local differences. Trial by jury was removed in 1970 leaving judicial judgement done completely and only by judgeship. Singapore has laws that include corporal punishment in the form of caning for rape, rioting, vandalism, and some immigration crimes. There is a mandatory death penalty for murder, and for certain drug-trafficking and firearms offences. In a 2008 survey, international business executives believed Singapore had the best judicial system in Asia.
Buddhism is the most common religion in Singapore. Other common religions include: Christianity, Islam, Taoism, and Hinduism.
Students in Singapore go through six years of compulsory primary school, which ends with all students taking a Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Then, depending on their results in the PSLE, students are streamed into "Special", "Express", "Normal (Academic)", and "Normal (Technical)" groups. The amount of time a student spends studying in Secondary school (4–5 years) depends on their group.
Students are taught in English and their mother tongue, which can be Chinese, Malay or Tamil. Secondary school students may also choose to study a third language such as:
Students can take a third language as it increases their chances in getting an overseas scholarship and can improve their examination grades, especially in the GCE Ordinary Level ("O" Levels), which are Secondary students take after their five or four years of education. However, only some students can qualify to take a third language.
After their "O" Levels, students can choose to go to a polytechnic, which is a place where students can study for 3 years for a diploma or to a junior college where students study for 2 years to receive an "A" Level. Students can also go to Institutes of Technical Education (ITE), where students study for two years to receive a "National ITE Certificate" (NITEC). This certificate is only recognized in Singapore. Students who go to ITE usually continue their education at a polytechnic.
With either a diploma, or an "A" Level certificate, students can apply to go to universities in Singapore or overseas.
The Singapore government has chosen four official languages: English, Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), and Tamil. English is the primary language. Singapore English is the main language in Singapore.
English is the first language of the nation, but it is not the most common. English is the second most commonly spoken language among Singaporeans. The most commonly spoken language amongst Singaporeans in their homes is Chinese (51%), followed by English (32%), Malay (13%) and Tamil (7%). This means that 32% of Singaporeans are native English speakers. Most of the rest of the people speak it as a second language. However, English has the largest total number of speakers including native and second language speakers. Mandarin Chinese is the second most common.
Almost 40% of people in Singapore are foreign. Most foreigners come from Asia. The country where most foreigners come from are Malaysia, its closest neighbor. In 2009, there may have been 350,000 Malaysians working in Singapore. Many Chinese-speaking foreigners and Chinese-speaking Singaporeans work in services. Thus, Chinese is the main language of many workers such as hawkers, retail assistants, hairdressers, etc. in Singapore today.
Singaporean English mainly comes from British English. The forms of English spoken in Singapore range from Standard English to a pidgin called Singlish. The Singapore government and many Singaporeans are against using Singlish. There is a "Speak Good English" campaign each year. Public schools and in the media also have rules against Singlish. There are many Singapore accents in English because of the many languages and identities of people in the city. Languages can even change over the generations and children may speak different languages and have different accents from their mother. For example, in a Singaporean Chinese family, the grandmother might speak Hokkien as her first language. Differently, the mother might speak Mandarin as her first language and Hokkien/English as her second languages, while the grandson might speak English as his first language and Mandarin as his second language.
Before independence in 1965, Hokkien, a Chinese dialect, was the common language among the Chinese laborers. Malay and English were used to communicate between the different ethnic groups. After independence in 1965, English became the first language of the nation and replaced Hokkien and Malay as the one shared language. Today, most younger Singaporeans have English as their first language or are fluent in English.
Malay is a national language of Singapore because of the history of the city. However, less than 20% of Singaporeans can read and write in Malay. Malay is still used at home by most Malay Singaporeans. The Malay used in Singapore (Bahasa Melayu) is closer to the language in Malaysia than the language in Indonesia. However, there are differences between the Malay in Singapore and in Malaysia. The national anthem "Majulah Singapura" is sung in Malay.
Many people speak Chinese – Mandarin and other Chinese dialects – in Singapore. Just over 50% of Singaporeans speak it at home, so it is the most common language in homes. Singaporean Mandarin is based on simplified Chinese and it is similar to the system used in mainland China. The forms of Mandarin spoken in Singapore range from Standard Mandarin to a pidgin known as Singdarin. Besides Mandarin, many southern Chinese dialects are also spoken in Singapore.
Hokkien used to be a lingua franca among the Singaporean Chinese so many older Singaporeans still understand Hokkien. The most common Chinese dialects spoken by Singaporeans are the Hokkien, Hainan, Teochew and Cantonese. However, Chinese dialects other than Mandarin are not allowed in the media, so these dialects are quickly dying out. Most younger Singaporeans do not speak them anymore.
Tamil, a South Indian language, is spoken by about half of Indians in Singapore. That is about 5% of all Singaporeans. However, North Indian languages such as Hindi and Punjabi are also spoken by a small group of Singaporean Indians in Singapore.
Singapore has many kinds of people and immigrants from many places. Therefore, Singaporean culture has often been described as a mix of cultures – European, Malay, Chinese, Indian and Peranakan. Also, foreigners are 42% of the population in Singapore and they are part of changing Singaporean culture.
Dining is an important part of life in Singapore. Singaporean food is an example of the many different cultures in the country. It is also an example of mixing among cultures. British, Chinese, Indian, Malay, Tamil, and Indonesian styles of cooking all mix together. It is especially known for its sea food. Typical Singaporean food includes: Satay, Nasi lemak, Chilli crab, Kaya toast, and Hainanese chicken rice.