Tiny Island, Massive Flex: 60 Times Singapore Topped The Charts

Being No. 1 in the world isn’t always about having the best airport, holding the most “powerful” passport or being the world’s most expensive city to live in (ugh!)

Turns out, it can also be about crabs (apparently, we have the world’s most poisonous one), chocolate (we’re talking a 2.7-tonne Kit Kat), and cubes (solving a Rubik’s Cube while juggling in 17 seconds, that is – you can or not?!)

Here, a roundup of 60 times the Lion City has come out tops in global rankings. Happy 60th birthday, Singapore!

🌍 Global rankings and national prestige

1. The Singapore passport ranks #1 globally with visa-free travel to 193 countries, according to the 2025 Henley Passport Index.

2. According to the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2024, Singapore ranked first as the world’s most expensive city to live in, a repeat win from the year before. (The Wonderwall.sg team’s measly bank accounts can confirm this.)

IMAGE: FACEBOOK/@CHANGIAIRPORT

3. Changi Airport (shown above) topped the 2025 Skytrax World Airport Awards as the World’s Best Airport.

4. Since 2019, according to the Leading Maritime Cities (LMC) report, Singapore continues to be the leading maritime city in 2024 and is expected to retain the title this year.

5. Singapore ranked first in the 2023 and 2024 Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI), which evaluates the effectiveness of over 100 governments worldwide. South Korea, at 20th, is the only other Asian nation in the top 20.

6. In the inaugural 2025 Asia-Pacific Best Cities report, Singapore came in first, according to factors of liveability, lovability and prosperity.

7. According to the World Openness Report 2023, Singapore was ranked the world’s most open economy in 2022 out of 129 economies assessed. We held this top position consistently from 2015 to 2022.

8. In the 2024 Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual rankings, Singapore remained the world’s leading business environment for the 15th consecutive year.

9. Singapore is the most competitive economy out of 67 across the world's eight major regions, according to the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR).

IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/@AAAATU

10. In 2023, Singapore was ranked by the World Bank as the global top logistics hub.

11. In 2024, Singapore was ranked the world’s safest city for tourists, according to research by Forbes Advisor.

12. In 2024, Singapore emerged top in Asia Pacific on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, a first since 2010.

📚 Education and youth excellence

13. In 2023, for the third time in a row, students in Singapore topped the global rankings in mathematics and science, according to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss), a worldwide benchmarking assessment held every four years.

14. In 2006, at the age of six, Derek Lim from Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) became Singapore's youngest world chess champion, clinching the Under-7 title at the World Schools Chess Championships held in Halkidiki, Greece.

15. Based on results from 6,606 students across 149 secondary schools and 15 private institutions, Singapore topped the 2022 PISA rankings in mathematics, science, and reading.

IMAGE: FACEBOOK/@TAMPINES TOWN COUNCIL

16. According to Save the Children's 2019 Global Childhood Report, Singapore was ranked the best country in the world for protecting and providing for its children.

🍲 Culture, heritage, and identity

17. In 1994, the Singapore Night Safari opened its doors, becoming the world’s first night safari.

Kucinta. | IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/@STRAITS SINGAPURA

18. The Singapura Cat - aka Kucinta, a portmanteau of the Malay words “kucing” (meaning “cat”) and “cinta” (meaning “love”) - was recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records in the 1970s as the smallest domestic cat breed.

19. In 2022, travel site Big 7 Travel crowned Singapore the most Instagrammable destination in the world.

20. In 2020, Singapore's hawker culture was the world's first to be inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

21. In the latest 2025 World Happiness Report, Singapore retained its top spot as Southeast Asia's happiest country.

22. The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is Southeast Asia's largest film festival.

🏃‍♂️ Sports and games

23. In 2006, at the age of 65, Alan Puan became the oldest Singaporean competitor at the Asian Games in Doha, competing in billiards. He was also the most senior participant among the 12,000 athletes at the Games.

24. On 18 Sep 2005, Dr William Tan achieved the world's fastest time by wheelchair on a running track for 100km - 7hr 33min 2sec - at the NUS Sports Stadium. The record has since been broken.

2010 Summer Youth Olympics. | IMAGE: FACEBOOK/@OLYMPICS

25. Singapore hosted the first-ever Youth Olympic Games in 2010, winning the bid over Moscow with a vote of 53 to 44 by the International Olympic Committee.

26. On 4 Oct 2013, iFly Singapore set a Guinness World Record for the most skydivers flying simultaneously in a wind tunnel. The group of 13 - including 12 children and one adult - flew together for 5min. The record has since been broken.

27. On 9 Mar 2020, Daryl Tan set a Guinness World Record by solving a Rubik's Cube while juggling in just 17.16 seconds. The feat was achieved with help from his friends at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

28. The most Pokémon identified by national Pokédex number in one minute is 103 and was achieved by Kenneth Tan on 26 Feb 2024.

🤪 Community and whimsy

29. On 3 Mar 2007, a world record for the most people shaving simultaneously was set at Suntec City during the launch of the five-blade Gillette Fusion. A total of 1,580 participants shaved together at the Fountain of Wealth, using new shavers and shaving cream provided by Gillette.

30. On 3 Jul 2006, Plaza Singapura showcased the world's largest chocolate bar, a 2.668-ton Kit Kat Chunky created by Nestlé Singapore. The enormous bar measured 3.02m by 1.06m by 0.725m. The record has since been broken.

31. In 2002, Class 95FM listeners donated 79,001 used bras over five weeks, which were strung together in Sentosa to create the world's longest bra chain measuring 60.015km. The initiative, organised in support of the Breast Cancer Foundation, set a world record on 21 Dec that year, though it has since been surpassed.

32. On 18 Dec 2004, Chef Xavier Baumgartner and four other chefs baked a massive 26.4m-long log cake weighing one ton (1,000kg). The feat – which took 175 hours to complete – was a joint effort by Singapore Expo and Cold Storage. The record has since been broken.

IMAGE: SINGAPORERECORDS.COM

33. On 15 Dec 2004, primary school students teamed up to build a world record-breaking 1,410m-long Lego millipede with 2,946 legs (shown above), using 2,891,626 Lego bricks. Held at Robinson's Christmas Village in Singapore Expo and organised by Lego, the record has since been surpassed.

34. On 29 Jul 2005, 1,601 NTU students formed the world's longest human centipede at Bishan Park by linking ankles and crawling over 30 metres. The record has since been broken.

35. On 17 July 2011, Edgefield Primary School set a Guinness World Record with 3,379 people dancing the cha cha cha at Punggol Field during the Racial & Religious Harmony Street Parade. The school trained for over eight months. The record has since been broken.

36. On 21 May 2000, the New Paper Big Walk entered the Guinness World Records with 77,500 participants for the world'ss largest walk. The event began at the National Stadium and was organised by Singapore Press Holdings, the Singapore Athletic Association, and the Singapore Sports Council.

37. On 15 Feb 2024, PropNex Realty set a Guinness World Record for the most people doing lohei together. A total of 3,268 staff, agents, and guests gathered at Marina Bay Sands to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. Eighty chefs prepared 888 plates of yu sheng, laid out across 439 tables arranged in the shape of two dragons.

38. On 1 Oct 2011, 1,208 staff and children from Global EduHub Pte Ltd broke the Guinness World Record for the largest limbo dance at ITE College West. Participants danced and limboed under a pole set at 1m for adults and 0.8m for children, all to the rhythm of "Limbo Rock".

39. On 3 Oct 1993, Singapore set the Guinness World Record for the largest mass aerobic session at the National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign. Then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong led a 3km walk-and-jog from the National Stadium to the Padang, followed by a 15min exercise session with 26,107 participants. The record has since been broken.

🌇 Infrastructure and urban development

40. Built in 2009, Pinnacle@Duxton is the world's tallest public housing development with sky gardens on the 26th and 50th floors.

Rain Vortex. | IMAGE: UNSPLASH

41. The largest indoor waterfall in the world is the 40m-tall Rain Vortex, located within Jewel Changi Airport.

42. The Singapore National Stadium has the world's largest free-spanning dome.

43. Opened in 2013, the North East Line (NEL) is the world's first fully underground driverless MRT line.

44. Once the world's largest floating stage, the Marina Bay Floating Platform (built in 2007) hosted National Day Parades and various large-scale performances. Now under construction, it is slated to be a future outdoor multi-purpose venue aka NS Square, with a national service-themed gallery, community sports facilities, and a public waterfront promenade. Construction is expected to be completed in 2027.

Fountain of Wealth. | IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/@SENGKANG

45. In 1998, the iconic Fountain of Wealth at the heart of Suntec City was crowned the World's Largest Fountain by Guinness World Records. That title was later claimed by Dubai's Palm Fountain in 2020.

46. In 2024, Nanyang Technological University's Gaia - the largest wooden building in Asia - clinched the top UNESCO prize for architecture and design in the World's Most Beautiful Campuses category.

47. In 2024, Changi Airport Terminal 2 received the special interior prize at the Prix Versailles World Architecture and Design Awards, under the World'ss Most Beautiful Airports category.

48. When its main tower was completed in 1941, The Cathay stood as the tallest building in Singapore, rising 87m from street level to its peak.

49. Completed in 1988, One Raffles Place - formerly OUB Centre - was once the tallest building in Singapore, and the tallest outside of North America, standing at 280m.

🌱 Environment and sustainability

50. According to a report by Eagle Dumpster Rental, Singapore is the cleanest tourist city in the world.

IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/@CALVIN TEO.

51. In 2015, the Singapore Botanic Gardens (shown above) became the first and only tropical garden in the world to receive UNESCO World Heritage status.

52. In 2012, Singapore made it into the Guinness Book of World Records, thanks to Gardens by the Bay's Flower Dome, the world's largest glass greenhouse.

53. Singapore topped a global ranking for having the safest and cleanest drinking water. Yale University's 2024 Environmental Performance Index assessed 180 countries based on the health risks posed by poor sanitation and unsafe water, such as bacterial infections that cause diarrhoea illnesses. Singapore earned an almost perfect score of 99.9 out of 100.

54. Pelican Cove at the former Jurong Bird Park (now Bird Paradise) hosted the world's most complete collection of pelicans — over 40 birds across seven species. It also featured the world's only underwater viewing gallery for pelican feeding.

IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/@MINECRAFTGAMER10

55. The vibrant mosaic crab (Lophozozymus pictor, shown above), found in Singapore waters, is the world's most poisonous crab. Its shell contains saxitoxin — 1,000 times more toxic than cyanide. Even when cooked, it can cause paralysis or death if eaten.

💻 Tech and innovation

56. Singapore is considered the smartest city in Asia, topping the 2024 Smart City Index conducted by Swiss business school International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

57. According to the 2023 Tech Cities Index published by Savills World Research, Singapore is the top fintech hub in Asia.

58. In 2024, Singapore was crowned the world’s most innovative country, claiming the top spot in the latest Global Innovation Scorecard. The ranking, compiled every two years by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), evaluates 74 countries and the European Union based on factors like workforce education and the rate of new business creation.

IMAGE: SCREENSHOT FROM DOCS.BIOMETRICS.SINGPASS.GOV.SG

59. In 2020, Singapore became the first country in the world to use facial verification in our national identity scheme, aka Singpass.

60. In 2016, according to the Akamai State of the Internet report for Q3, Singapore had the highest global average peak Internet connection speed at 162 megabytes per second.

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