Overview

Pedestrians aerial view

Singapore’s total population stood at 5.64 million as at June 2022 (Diagram 1). The total population grew by 3.4% from June 2021 to June 2022, but remained slightly lower than the pre-COVID level of 5.70 million in June 2019.

Diagram 1: Total Population, as at June 2022

Diagram 1

Source: Department of Statistics, Ministry of Manpower
Numbers may not sum up due to rounding.

The citizen and PR populations increased by 1.6 per cent (3.50 million to 3.55 million) and 6.3 per cent (0.49 million to 0.52 million) respectively between June 2021 and June 2022 (Chart 1). The PR population was still slightly below the pre-COVID level of 0.53 million in June 2019. The changes to the citizen and PR populations were mainly due to the easing of travel restrictions related to COVID-19, as more citizens and PRs who previously remained overseas continuously for 12 months or more returned to Singapore.

Chart 1: Total Population by residency status, as of June 2022 Chart 1

Source: Department of Statistics
Numbers may not sum up due to rounding.

The non-resident population increased by 6.6 per cent to 1.56 million as at June 2022 (Chart 2), but was still lower than the pre-COVID level of 1.68 million in June 2019. The bulk of the increase came from Work Permit Holders in the Construction, Marine Shipyard, and Process (CMP) sectors as a result of the easing of travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

Chart 2: Foreign Employment Growth, as at June 2022 Chart 2 Source: Ministry of Manpower

Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly, with low fertility rates and longer life expectancies. Large cohorts of “baby boomers” have begun entering the post-65 age range (Chart 3). The proportion of citizens aged 65 and above has increased from 11.1% in 2012 to 18.4% in 2022. By 2030, around 1 in 4 citizens (23.8%) will be aged 65 & above.

Chart 3: Citizen population by broad age groups, as at June 2022 Chart 3 Source: Department of Statistics

In 2021, there were 23,433 citizen marriages, 20.6 per cent more than the 19,430 citizen marriages in 2020 (Chart 4). This was due in part to the progressive easing of COVID-19 safe management measures, which enabled couples to proceed with their marriage plans.

Chart 4 – Citizen marriages, 2011 - 2021 Chart 4 Source: Department of Statistics
The figures are based on the full calendar year (January to December).

There were 31,713 citizen births in 2021, similar to the 31,816 citizen births in 2020 (Chart 5). In the past five years (2017 to 2021), there were about 32,200 citizen births on average per year, fewer than the average of about 32,900 per year in the preceding five years (2012 to 2016). This was because of the slightly lower number of births in 2020 and 2021, which could be partly due to delays in marriage and childbearing plans given the uncertainties brought about by COVID-19.

Chart 5 – Citizen births, 2011 - 2021 Chart 5 Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
The figures are based on the full calendar year (January to December).

The resident Total Fertility Rate (TFR) recovered slightly from the historic low of 1.10 in 2020, to 1.12 in 2021. However, this was still lower than the pre-COVID level of 1.14 in 2019.

These figures are from the annual Population in Brief publication, which provides key updates and trends on Singapore’s population.