Series on facts about Singapore : Series - 4

• British pop violinist Vanessa Mae Nicholson was born in Singapore and moved to England when she was four.
  
• More Singaporean babies are born in the dragon year according to the Chinese that is the most auspicious zodiac sign.
  
• The first population census taken in 1824 revealed that the total population was 10,683. The 2000 census showed that the population of Singapore is 4.2 million.
  
• Nearly 9 out of 10 Singaporeans live in public housing flats.
  
• The most common Chinese surnames in Singapore are Tan, Lim and Lee.
  
• Singapore has more than 3,000 kilometres of roads. Stretched end to end, they can cover the distance from Singapore to Hong Kong.
  
• 8 in 10 people in Singapore own cell phones. In fact, telecom companies issue new numbers at the rate of 30,000 to 40,000 per month.
  
• Singapore's best showing in the Olympic Games ever was a silver medal won by weightlifter Tan Howe Liang in Rome in 1960.
  
• Swimmer Ang Peng Siong was ranked world number one in the 50m Freestyle in 1982.
  
• The Singapore Sling was first served in 1915 at the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel. The ingredients are gin, Cointreau, cherry brandy, Dom Benedictine, pineapple juice, Grenadine, Angoustura bitters and limes.