Population and Demographics

Singapore is the second most densely populated independent country in the world, excluding Macau and Hong Kong which are parts of the PRC. Eighty-three percent of Singaporeans live in public housing provided by the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

The largest group in the population of 4.48 million (as of June 2006) are the Singaporean Chinese who account for 76.8% of Singaporeans, making it one of the largest Chinese cities outside of China. Nearby Malaysia is also home to many ethnic Chinese. Singapore is also diverse, with the Singaporean Malays, who are the indigenous native group of the country, constituting 13.9%, though this number includes many Malay ethnic groups from other parts of the Malay archipelago including the Javanese, Bugis, Baweans and Minangkabau. Indian Singaporeans are the third largest ethnic group at 7.9%, consisting of several groups - Indian Tamils and Sri Lankan Tamils, who form the largest Indian group, and others such as Malayalees, Punjabis and Bengalis. The rest are made up of smaller groups such as Arab Singaporeans, Jews, Thais, Japanese, European and the Eurasian Singaporean community.

Official figures show that the number of foreigners on short-term permits (termed 'non-residents') has grown from 30,900 in 1970 to 797,900 in 2005, which translate roughly to a 24-fold increase in 35 years, or from 1% of the population in 1970 to 18.3% in 2005.

Singapore is a multi-religious country, due mainly to its location on one of the world's major transportation routes. More than 40% of Singaporeans practice Buddhism. About 15% practice Christianity (mostly Chinese and Indians), and 15% profess no religion. Muslims (mostly Malays) account for 14%. A smaller minority practices Taoism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Baha'i Faith, and others.

The government of Singapore has been careful to maintain ethnic harmony after racial riots erupted in the 1960s. Racial harmony has been emphasized in all aspects of society, including the Singaporean education system, military and housing. So far the policy has been largely successful, and there have been few signs of ethnic tension since the early 1970s.

After two decades of a successful family planning policy, Singapore is now facing the threat of an aging population with declining birth rates. The government is encouraging Singaporeans to have more children through the provision of financial incentives for the first to fourth child of each family.

In 2006, 38,232 babies were born, compared to around 37,600 in 2005. Singapore would need 50,000 babies per year to be at replacement level. Singapore's large number of migrants has kept Singapore's population from declining.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 4,553,009
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 15.2% (male 358,064/female 333,702)
  • 15-64 years: 76.3% (male 1,692,817/female 1,780,982)
  • 65 years and over: 8.5% (male 171,876/female 215,568)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 37.8 years
  • Male: 37.4 years
  • Female: 38.2 years
• Population Growth Rate: 1.275%
• Birth Rate: 9.17 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 4.4 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: 7.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.073 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.797 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 0.954 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 2.3 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 2.07 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 81.8 years
  • Male: 79.21 years
  • Female: 84.59 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.07 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: 0.2%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 4,100
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Chinese 76.8%
  • Malay 13.9%
  • Indian 7.9%
  • Other 1.4%
• Religions:
  • Buddhist 42.5%
  • Muslim 14.9%
  • Taoist 8.5%
  • Hindu 4%
  • Catholic 4.8%
  • Other Christian 9.8%
  • Other 0.7%
  • None 14.8%
• Languages:
  • Mandarin 35%
  • English 23%
  • Malay 14.1%
  • Hokkien 11.4%
  • Cantonese 5.7%
  • Teochew 4.9%
  • Tamil 3.2%
  • Other Chinese dialects 1.8%
  • Other 0.9%
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 92.5%
  • Male: 96.6%
  • Female: 88.6%