Singapore Trivia
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45 free Singapore trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
40 free Singapore trivia questions with answers. Singapore is a city, an island and a country all at once, and it packs a lot of trivia into 730 square kilometres. This quiz covers the legend of the prince who saw a lion, Stamford Raffles landing in 1819, the surrender of 1942 that Churchill called Britain's worst disaster, the expulsion from Malaysia in 1965, Lee Kuan Yew's 31 years, the four official languages, the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands and its infinity pool, the Supertrees, Changi and its indoor waterfall, Raffles Hotel and the Singapore Sling, hawker centres and their UNESCO listing, chilli crab and chicken rice, the chewing-gum ban, Singlish, the national orchid, HDB flats, the first Formula One night race and Joseph Schooling's gold. Easy questions ask what the name means and what the Merlion is; the hard ones want who designed the Merlion, the year the MRT opened, the Malay name of Sentosa and the newspaper that coined 'Little Red Dot'. Written for travellers, expats, geography quizzers and Singaporeans checking their own knowledge. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the country, its history, landmarks and food, and each question carries the sentence that backs it up.
30 of 45 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The name Singapura, from which Singapore comes, means what in Sanskrit?
Lion city
Lion city: in the Malay Annals, prince Sang Nila Utama saw a strange beast on the island, was told it was a lion, and founded his city there.
Q 02What was the island called before it became Singapura, according to the Malay Annals?
Temasek
Temasek: in the Annals, a storm nearly sank Sang Nila Utama's ship on the way there, and it calmed only when his crown was thrown overboard.
Q 03Roughly how far north of the equator is Singapore?
One degree
One degree: that puts Singapore so close to the equator that its temperatures stay high and nearly uniform all year round.
Q 04Raffles set up Singapore's 1819 trading post for which company?
The East India Company
The East India Company: its treaty paid Sultan Hussein and the Temenggong in return for the right to set up the post.
Q 05Besides founding modern Singapore, Stamford Raffles was the first president of which institution?
The Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London: Raffles died suddenly in July 1826, only months after its founding and nearly two years before its zoo opened.
Q 06How did Winston Churchill describe the fall of Singapore?
The worst disaster in British military history
The worst disaster in British military history: trying to defend the island's entire coastline, Percival had spread his troops too thinly.
Q 07Singapore became independent on 9 August 1965 by separating from which country?
Malaysia
Malaysia: its prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had decided Singapore must leave, and Singapore's own Goh Keng Swee had also proposed a separation.
Q 08Who became Singapore's prime minister in 2004?
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong: Lee Kuan Yew's eldest son was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1992, but chemotherapy sent the cancer into remission.
Q 09What is the title of Singapore's national anthem?
Majulah Singapura
Majulah Singapura: it may be sung only with its original lyrics, never a translation, even though authorised translations exist.
Q 10Singapore's Merlion was first designed in 1964 as the emblem of which organisation?
The tourism board
The tourism board: the Merlion's fish body was meant to recall Singapore's beginnings as a fishing village.
Q 11What is Singapore's ultra-clean NEWater made from?
Treated wastewater
Treated wastewater: its biggest users are wafer fabrication plants, which need water even purer than drinking water.
Q 12Which architect designed both Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi Airport?
Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie: he first made his name with Habitat 67, a Montreal housing complex that began as his student thesis at McGill.
Q 13Some of Singapore's Supertrees carry what for power?
Solar panels
Solar panels: the energy they harvest powers some of the Supertrees' own functions, such as their lighting.
Q 21What is kaya, spread on the classic Singaporean breakfast toast?
Coconut jam
Coconut jam: kaya toast is traced to Hainanese immigrants, who swapped the fruit jam of Western breakfasts for kaya.
Q 22What did Singapore famously ban from sale in 1992?
Chewing gum
Chewing gum: vandals had been sticking gum on the door sensors of MRT trains, stopping the doors from working.
Q 23Singapore's MRT won approval after a debate over which alternative?
Buses only
Buses only: an all-bus system was judged impractical for Singapore, so the rail network got the green light in 1982.
Q 14What is the Rain Vortex at Jewel Changi Airport?
An indoor waterfall
An indoor waterfall: the world's tallest, it turns into a screen for a 360-degree light and sound show every evening.
Q 15Which Armenian brothers opened a luxury hotel on Singapore's Beach Road in 1887?
The Sarkies
The Sarkies: when the last of the brothers died in 1931, huge debts came to light, and the family lost control of their hotels.
Q 16The Singapore Sling was reputedly created in 1915 at which bar?
The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel
The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel: guests there brush peanut shells onto the floor, perhaps the only place in Singapore where littering is encouraged.
Q 17What is the base spirit of a Singapore Sling?
Gin
Gin: the drink was reputedly disguised as fruit juice so that women, barred by etiquette from drinking alcohol in public, could order it.
Q 18In December 2020, UNESCO added which Singaporean tradition to its intangible heritage list?
Hawker culture
Hawker culture: the Hawker Chan stall once held a Michelin star, only to lose it in 2021.
Q 19Singapore's chilli crab is credited to Cher Yam Tian, who stir-fried crabs with chilli sauce and which other sauce?
Tomato sauce
Tomato sauce: her improvised stir-fry caught on, and selling it grew into a successful seafood business.
Q 20Hainanese chicken rice was adapted from which dish from Hainan?
Wenchang chicken
Wenchang chicken: Hainanese cooks boiled rice in the leftover chicken stock, a habit Singapore's chicken rice kept.
Q 24What was Sentosa island called before it was renamed in the 1970s?
Pulau Blakang Mati
Pulau Blakang Mati: in 1942 the guns of its Fort Siloso, built to face attackers from the sea, were swung round to fire inland at Japanese troops.
Q 25Singapore Botanic Gardens' first scientific director, Henry Ridley, drove the regional boom in which crop?
Rubber
Rubber: he perfected a way to tap latex without killing the trees, and by 1920 Malaya was producing half the world's latex.
Q 26What kind of plant is Singapore's national flower, chosen in 1981?
An orchid
An orchid: officials picked this hybrid for its hardiness and resilience, qualities meant to reflect the Singapore spirit.
Q 27What government campaign was launched in 2000 to discourage Singlish, the local creole?
Speak Good English
Speak Good English: the year before, the prime minister singled out sitcom hero Phua Chu Kang's Singlish, and the show cut back on it.
Q 28Singapore's HDB limits each public housing block's share of flats for each what?
Ethnic group
Ethnic group: the Ethnic Integration Policy, begun in 1989, is meant to stop any one race clustering in an area and forming an enclave.
Q 29Which other country's dollar is accepted in Singapore under an interchangeability agreement?
Brunei
Brunei: a third country's currency also traded at par under the same pact, until that country pulled out in 1973.
Q 30What is the highest natural point in Singapore?
Bukit Timah Hill
It rises just 164 metres above sea level.