Singapore
Singapore's Population Trend - areas that contribute to a sustainable population
A strong and cohesive society with Singaporeans at its heart, a dynamic and vibrant economy to provide good jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans, and a high quality living environment and home for all Singaporeans.
By Fergus Consultancy Group
Published on 12 Oct 2023
Singapore's resident Total Fertility Rate
In 2022, Singapore's resident Total Fertility Rate (TFR) fell to an all-time low of 1.04. According to report, 30, 429 citizen births were recorded in 2022, 4.0% fewer than the 31,713 reported in 2021.
Singapore has been facing low birthrate in the recent years. The government has devised programmes to provide assistance for prospective parents in an effort to lessen the issue such as Baby Bonus cash gift and the Child Development Account First Step Grant. Even though such initiatives have been implemented, Singapore TFR has continued to decline.
If such situations were to persist, Singapore will experience an influx of foreigners in the coming years as a result of a lack of labour. This has gradually become a trend since Singapore's population has been decreasing. To cope with the circumstances, the government will have to bring in more foreigners to take up the positions of local workers.
Overall Population in Singapore
With the easing of travel restrictions due to Covid-19, more citizens and Permanent Residents (PR) returned to Singapore. Citizens and PR population increased by 1.6% and 3.7% respectively between the year 2022 and 2023. This implies that Singapore government is approving more people in becoming Singapore citizen.
Non-resident population has also increased by 13.1%, standing at 1.77 million in 2023. This increase is contributed by all pass types and the largest increase came from Work Permit Holders in Constructions, Marine Shipyard, and Process sectors while the remaining increase were spread across sectors.
As a result, Singapore's population hit an all time high of 5.92m in 2023, an increase of 5% from 2022.
Ageing
Singapore ageing population has been on a rise. It is increasing at a faster pace compared to the last decade. Proportion of citizens above the age of 65 has increased from 11.7% in 2013 to 19.1% in 2023 and number of citizens aged 80 and above have also increased by 70%.
As a result, this can lead to a lack of manpower in the labor force which affects the business's productivity. In order to overcome such challenges, more foreigners are brought in to Singapore to fill in roles that are in-demand.
Mitigate Ageing and Low Birth Rate in Singapore
In an effort to prevent long-term population loss, immigration allows Singapore to temper the effects of ageing and a low birth rate. Having said that, the process of being granted a citizenship in Singapore is determine by a few factors. Singapore welcome a specific number of new citizens and PR each year.
Citizenships are granted to individuals who are able to integrate and contribute to Singapore and are committed to making Singapore their home.
A higher chance of getting approval includes sharing family ties with Singaporeans such as marriage, or have studied, worked or lived in Singapore for some time.
The majority of new citizens come from the pool of PRs, since citizens are required to obtain PR before they are able to apply for Singapore citizenship. A small amount of new citizens who were not PR prior to obtaining a citizenship in Singapore are minors. The PR population in Singapore has remained consistent at about 500,000 people, with the majority of them between the ages of 25 and 59.
Based on statistic, 23,082 individuals were granted citizenship and 34,493 individuals were granted PR.
Source: Population-in-brief 2023.pdf