Singapore is an island country made up of 63 islands; it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from

Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore had been a part of various local empires. The British obtained sovereignty over the island in 1824. It became internally self-governing in 1959. Singapore united with other former British territories to form Malaysia in 1963 and became a fully independent state two years later after separation from Malaysia. Since then it has had a massive increase in wealth, and is one of the Four Asian Tigers. The economy heavily depends on the industry and service sectors. Singapore is a world leader in several areas; it is the world's fourth leading financial centre, the world's second biggest casino gambling market, the world's top three oil refining centre. The port of Singapore is one of the five busiest ports in the world. The country is home to more US dollar millionaire households per capita than any other country. The World Bank notes Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business.