Singapore Population

Singapore’s total population stood at 5.5 million as at 2015.

Of which, 3.9 million are Singapore residents comprising of 3.3 million are Singapore citizens and 0.6 million are permanent residents (PR). 1.6 million are non-resident foreigners.

Reflecting the ageing population, the proportion of Singapore residents aged 45 years and over expanded over time. Consequently, the ratio of working-age residents to elderly residents dropped.

The median age of the resident population is 38 years.

The Chinese formed the majority at 74% of the resident population, followed by the Malays with 13% and the Indians with 9%.

There is constant decline in general marriage rates since 2003. Sociologists said this is a particularly worrying trend given that the number of singles in the population has risen. With more singles, the general marriage rate should be going up but it has gone down instead. Experts said the reason singles are not translating their relationships into marriage may have to do with global economic uncertainty. Singles may be too focused on maintaining economic and job stability to even date.

It found more couples are not having children and there are more families with only one child. Experts said the fact that more women are marrying past their prime reproductive years means the likelihood of them growing larger families will be smaller.

Updated On: 16.12.26