- Area 733km2
- Population 5.6m
- Language: English
Colony of Singapore
Singapore was a British colony for 144 years, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945 during the Pacific War.
When the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, at the end of World War II, Singapore was returned to British rule. The Straits Settlements were subsequently dissolved in 1946, and together with Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island, Singapore became a separate Crown colony.
The Crown colony was governed by the United Kingdom until it gained partial internal self-governance in 1955. Singapore subsequently gained full internal self-governance on 3 June 1959, at which point it became known as the State of Singapore.
Singapore went on to merge with Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo to form Malaysia on 16 September 1963, thereby ending 144 years of British rule on the island. On 9 August 1965, Singapore was separated from Malaysia to become an independent sovereign country, due to political, economic and racial differences.