22.1 The Republic of Singapore is an island city State located between Malaysia and Indonesia. Founded by Sir Stamford Raffles as a British trading colony in 1819, it has long been the focal point of south-east Asian sea routes. Singapore achieved independence from the Malaysian Federation in 1965 and has a written constitution and a legal system based on English common law. English is the official administrative language of the country. With a population of around six million, it is a prosperous and successful financial services and transportation hub. The free market economy depends heavily on exports, and the port of Singapore is one of the busiest in the world in terms of tonnage handled. The local currency is the Singapore Dollar (SGD).