This small Southeast Asian country has 'engineered' a society that lives to 100 – here's how

Singapore is the world's latest "blue zone" — defined as a place where people live longer and healthier lives.

"Singapore has ... the highest health-adjusted life expectancy in the world. So whatever Singapore did, it worked at producing the longest, healthiest life on the planet," Dan Buettner, who coined the term "blue zones" told CNBC Make It.

Blue zones are places that have 10 times more centenarians compared to the U.S. on a per capita basis.

The five original blue zones are: Ikaria (Greece), Okinawa (Japan), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Sardinia (Italy) and Loma Linda (United States) — but Singapore is on Buettner's new list, dubbed "blue zone 2.0."

While the original blue zones came about by natural circumstances, blue zones 2.0 are man-made.

"The old blue zones are disappearing because they're becoming Americanized," Buettner said. "Mechanization is replacing physical activity and technology is disconnecting people from face-to-face interactions."

In 2004, Buettner joined forces with National Geographic and the National Institute of Aging to try to "reverse engineer" longevity. The team identified parts of the world where people were living measurably longer lives, then worked to find out why people in such communities lived longer.

Buettner and his team identified the "Power 9" — core factors that represent the habits of the world's healthiest and longest-living people.

These nine principles are: moving naturally in everyday life; having purpose; keeping routines to de-stress; stop eating when 80% full; eating more plant-based; consuming alcohol moderately and regularly; being part of a community; keeping loved ones close; and being surrounded by people with healthy habits.

Singapore is an "engineered longevity hotspot,"