Human rights in Singapore

Human rights in Singapore refers to rights both legal and in practice. Since Singapore's independence in 1965, the legal rights of its citizens have been set out in the Constitution of Singapore and include rights found in subsequent amendments and referendums. These rights have evolved through Singapore's history as a part of the Straits Settlements, its years under Japanese occupation, its position as a separate self-governing crown colony, and its present day status as a sovereign island country and city-state.

Article 14 of the Constitution of Singapore, specifically Article 14(1), guarantees and protects Singaporeans' rights to freedom of speech and expression, peaceful assembly without arms, and association. As a parliamentary democracy, Singaporeans are also guaranteed democratic rights to change their government through free and fair elections. However, this right has not been tested as of yet since, from its independence, the governing People's Action Party (PAP) has won every election with varying amounts of support ranging from 60–70% of the popular vote under the first-past-the-post voting system (FPTP). In the most recent election, the party won 83 out of 93 seats in the Parliament of Singapore with a vote count of 61.23%, while the largest opposition party the Workers' Party (WP) won the other 10. U.S.-based Freedom House has mentioned that elections in Singapore are free of electoral fraud and voter suppression, and that the party's widespread support can be explained by the relative stability of the PAP, infighting among other parties, and a sense of nostalgia and reverence for the leadership of the country's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, especially among the older generations.

With alternative parties still in the early stages of being a political force, Singapore gained a reputation of being a nanny state. Nevertheless, it is also widely considered to have a clean and transparent government, with corruption generally perceived as one of the lowest in the world. In 2020 Transparency International ranked it as the world's third least corrupt country and as the most transparent in Asia. The country also ranks highly in categories relating to quality of life, particularly education, GDP per capita, housing, human capital, healthcare, life expectancy and safety. Singapore has consistently been ranked the top sovereign country in Asia on the Human Development Index (HDI) statistic composite for the last decade, having increased its HDI value by over 30% between 1990 and 2020. The country is also considered the most peaceful in Asia on the Global Peace Index (GPI) for 2020.