Singapore is an island country located off the coast of the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Measuring just 26 kms north to south and 50 kms east to west, and with a population over five million people, Singapore is the second most densely populated sovereign state in the world. The current 719 km2 area is divided across 60 islands. Extensive land reclamation efforts have removed many former islands and created several new ones adding an extra 138 km2 over 50 years. The island is a parliamentary republic based on the Westminster system. Singapore is a high-income country that has a highly developed and successful free market economy. It enjoys an open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries. Unemployment is very low.
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is the military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). The SAF combined strength is approximately 80,000 personnel. The Army is by far the largest of the services and consists primarily of infantry battalions with supporting artillery, armour, engineer, and logistics units. Singapore is part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), whose other members include the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia. The country has a strong relationship with the USA, which includes military-to-military exchanges, training, cross-attendance of courses, and defence technology cooperation.