[picture: Sir Stamford Raffles was the first Westerner to discover Singapore in 1819, and subsequently became the first governor of the entrepot city. Today a statue of him is erected at the spot where he first landed Singapore. Behind him are skyscrapers that are the symbol of Singapore's success and prosperity.] Singapore (in Mandarin: 新加坡, Xīnjiāpō; in Malay: Singapura; in Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர், Cingkappūr) is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 704.0 km² (272 sq mi), it is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia.