true in 2018. The government provides numerous assistance programmes to the homeless and needy through the Ministry of Social and Family Development, so acute poverty is rare. Some of the programmes include providing between S$400 and S$1000 of financial assistance per month to needy households, providing free medical care at government hospitals, and paying for children's tuition. Other benefits include compensation for gym fees to encourage citizens to exercise, up to S$166,000 as a baby bonus for each citizen, heavily subsidised healthcare, financial aid for the disabled, the provision of reduced-cost laptops for poor students, rebates for costs such as public transport and utility bills, and more. As of 2018 Singapore's ranking in the Human Development Index is 9th in the world, with an HDI value of 0.935. Employment Singapore has a low unemployment rate for a developed country, with the rate not exceeding 4% from 2005 to 2014, and reaching highs of 3.1% in 2005 and 3% during the 2009 global financial crisis; it fell to 1.8% in the first quarter of 2015. Singapore does not have a minimum wage, believing that it would lower its competitiveness. It also has one of the highest income inequalities among developed countries. Although recognising that foreign workers are crucial to the country's economy, the government has considered placing limits on inflows of these workers, as foreign workers make up 80% of the construction industry and up to 50% of the service industry. Geography Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island, Pulau Ujong. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Johor–Singapore Causeway in the north and the Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's smaller islands. The highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill at . Under British rule, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands were part of Singapore, and both were transferred to Australia in 1957. Pedra Branca is the nation's easternmost point. Land reclamation projects have increased Singapore's land area from in the 1960s to by 2015, an increase of some 22% (130 km2). The country is projected to reclaim another . Some projects involve merging smaller islands through land reclamation to form larger, more functional and habitable islands, as has been done with Jurong Island. The type of sand used in reclamation is found in rivers and beaches, rather than deserts, and is in