The country of Singapore, consisting of Singapore island and some 50 smaller islands, is located in Southeast Asia at the tip of the Malay Peninsula. More than 3,000 multinational companies have offices on this tropical island at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca—the shortest sea route between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. As a trade center of the British Empire, Singapore attracted thousands of Chinese settlers—now 77 percent of the population. Independent since 1965, Singapore is Southeast Asia's financial hub and the world's busiest container port.