Singapore is a city-state and an island nation made up of 63 islands. Mainland Singapore is one of
the most densely populated regions in Asia. Singapore is an anglicized version of the name
'Singapura', which means the 'Land of the Lions'.
The modern history of Singapore commences with Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles setting up a trading outpost for the East India Company in 1819. In 1963, Singapore declared independence from the British and joined the Malay Federation. In 1965, the country broke apart from the Malay Federation, and since then Singapore's progress from an underdeveloped country to a financial and technological hub has been an inspiring story.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is ranked 12th and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is ranked 13th in the lastest QS World Universities Rankings for Asian universities. Other popular and leading institutions in Singapore are:
Singapore is extremely popular among students who wish to study courses in animation, design, game development, music, etc. Courses in law and combined post-graduate courses in management and engineering are extremely popular choices for students from South-Asia. With numerous technological companies having offices in Singapore and some institutions offering scholarships for students with a 'work in Singapore clause', Singapore has become a popular study destination for Indians.
