The Republic of Singapore is an island city-state in southeast Asia, located at latitude 1°1735N longitude 103°5120E and situated on the southern tip of Malay Peninsula, south of the state of Johor of Peninsular Malaysia and north of the Indonesian islands of Riau.Established as a trading port by the British in the early 19th century, Singapore became a centre of British influence in Southeast Asia. Upon achieving independence from Malaysia in 1965, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew advanced Singapore from a third world to first world nation. Singapore is known for its lack of corruption compared to most other Southeast Asian governments, and for being one of the East Asian Tigers. Singapore has one of the highest per capita gross domestic products in the world; in addition, it maintains strict laws and punishments covering even minor offenses such as littering — it has one of the highest execution rates in the world relative to population.