Demographics of Singapore
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Ethnic groups
Singapore has been a country of immigrants since Sir Stamford Raffles founded the island in 1819. Though the Chinese group is clearly the main ethnic category, there are no precise figures available about the exact population breakdown by ethnic groups.The only official ethnic breakdown from the "Census 2000" shows : Chinese 77%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.6%, other 1.4%, (100% being Singapore citizens + "resident" foreign population).
Such breakdown does not take into account the "non-resident" foreign population which is particularly important given Singapore's size, accounting for up to 18.3% of the total population. Official figures from Singstat show that non-resident population has increased 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. Despite this huge increase, no further breakdown is given by Singstat.
Ethnic Chinese are probably only a minority group among "non-residents". Among "non-residents" are noticeable communities such as maids, perhaps numbering 150,000, mostly from the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Other communities include those from South Asia subgroups from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka employed as low-skilled workers, and others, including expatriates, whether westerner or Asian, for example, Japanese and South Korean communities.
This official breakdown could be further categorised into subgroups by religion, original region, first or secondary immigration from Malaysia, Indonesia or other origin (for Chinese and Indian groups particularly).
Following figures show that the ethnic composition of the resident population has been stable over the last 30 years, while non-resident population has boomed.
| Ethnic | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 77.0 | 78.3 | 77.7 | 76.8 |
| Malays | 14.8 | 14.4 | 14.1 | 13.9 |
| Indians | 7.0 | 6.3 | 7.1 | 7.9 |
| Others | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.4 |
| 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2005
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resident (=citizens+PR status) | 98.5% | 94.5% | 89.8% | 81.7% |
| Non-resident | 1.5% | 5.5% | 10.2% | 18.3% |
Languages
There are four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
Malay is the national language of the country, although English is mainly used. English serves as the link between the different ethnic groups and is the language of the educational system and the administration. The colloquial English used in everyday lives is often referred to as Singlish.
The government of Singapore has been promoting the use of Mandarin among the Chinese population with its Speak Mandarin Campaign. The use of Chinese dialects, like Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese and Hakka, has been declining over the last two decades, although they are still being used especially by the older generations of the Chinese population.
About 60% of Singapore's Indian population speaks Tamil as their native language. Other Indian languages are Malayalam and Hindi.
Around 5000 Peranakans, the early Chinese population of the region, still use the Hokkien-influenced Malay dialect called Baba Malay.
| Language most frequently spoken at home (%) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | 1990 | 2000 |
| English | 18.8 | 23.0 |
| Mandarin | 23.7 | 35.0 |
| Chinese Dialects | 39.6 | 23.8 |
| Malay | 14.3 | 14.1 |
| Tamil | 2.9 | 3.2 |
Religion
Singapore generally allows religious freedom, although some religious sects are restricted or banned, such as Jehovah's Witness, due to its opposition of National Service. The majority of Malays are Muslim. A majority of Chinese generally practise a mix of Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Christianity is growing among the Chinese, with many converting. Indians are mostly Hindus though many others are Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians.
| Resident population aged 15 years and over by religion''' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Religion | Population | Percentage |
| Total | 2,494,630 | 100.0% |
| Buddhism | 1,060,662 | 42.5% |
| Islam | 371,660 | 14.9% |
| No religion | 370,094 | 14.8% |
| Christianity | 364,087 | 14.6% |
| Taoism/Chinese traditional beliefs | 212,344 | 8.5% |
| Hinduism | 99,904 | 4.0% |
| Sikhism | 9,733 | 0.39% |
| Other religions | 6,146 | 0.25% |
Population
4,600,000 (July 2003 est.)
| Age | percentage | male | female |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-14 years | 18% | 390,352 | 365,730 |
| 15-64 years | 75% | 1,520,875 | 1,590,355 |
| 65 years and over | 7% | 124,413 | 159,539 |
| Residential Status | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Total Population | 4,017,733 | 100.0% |
| Citizens | 2,973,091 | 74.0% |
| Permanent Residents | 290,118 | 7.2% |
| Non-resident Population | 754,524 | 18.8% |
| Population growth rate | 3.54% |
| Birth rate | 12.79 births/1,000 population |
| Death rate | 4.21 deaths/1,000 population |
| Net migration rate | 26.8 migrant/1,000 population |
| Age | males/female |
|---|---|
| at birth | 1.08 |
| under 15 years | 1.07 |
| 15-64 years | 0.96 |
| 65 years and over | 0.78 |
| total population | 0.96 |
Infant mortality rate
3.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
total population:
80.05 years
male:
77.1 years
female:
83.23 years (2000 est.)
Fertility rate
Singapore's fertility rate is 1.24 children born per woman,which is one of the lowest in the world.
Marriages and divorces
| 2003 | |
|---|---|
| Number of marriages (excluding previously married) | 21,962 |
| Number of resident marriage (excluding previously married) | 21,282 |
| Number of divorces and annulments | 6,561 |
| Mean age of first marriage (years) | |
| …Grooms | 30.2 |
| …Brides | 27.2 |
| General marriage rate | |
| …Males (per 1,000 unmarried resident males) | 44.0 |
| …Females (per 1,000 unmarried resident females) | 44.3 |
| General divorce rate | |
| …Males (per 1,000 unmarried resident males) | 7.8 |
| …Females (per 1,000 unmarried resident females) | 8.0 |
| Crude marriage rate (per 1,000 resident population) | 6.39 |
| Crude rate of marital dissolution (per 1,000 resident population) | 1.91 |
The divorce rate has doubled over the last decade, and as of 2003, for every ten marriages registered in Singapore, almost three ended in divorce. The Women's Charter protects the women's financial interests during a divorce, often requiring the husband to contribute to his divorced wife and their children.
Literacy
Aged 15 years & above| Year | 2000 | 1990 |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 92.5% | 89.1% |
| Male | 96.6% | 95.1% |
| Female | 88.6% | 83.0% |
Education
Source: Census 2000. [link] Note: Based on resident non-students aged 15 years and over by highest qualification attained.Employment
In 2005, the unemployment rate is 2.5%, the lowest in the last four years, with a labour force of 2.3 million people."[Latest Data (1 Feb 2006)] - Singapore Department of Statistics. URL accessed on 2 February 2006. By May Wong.
Unemployment rates were seasonally adjusted. '' Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [link]''
Note: Based on persons aged 15 years and over.
Household income
Average household income
The average household income is SGD$4,943 in 2000, which is an increase from SGD$3,080 in 1990 at an average annual rate of 4.9%. The average household income experienced a drop of 2.7% in 1999 due to economic slowdown.'' Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [link]''
Measured in 1990 dollars, the average household income rose from SGD$3,080 in 1990 to SGD$4,170 in 2000 at an average annual rate of 2.8%. [link]
'' Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [link]''
Household income distribution
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [link]Growth in household income by decile
With the recovery from the 1998 economic slowdown, household income growth had resumed for the majority of households in 2000. However, for the lowest two deciles, the average household income in 2000 had declined compared with 1999. This was mainly due to the increase in the proportion of households with no income earner from 75% in 1999 to 87% in 2000 for the lowest 10%. Households with no income earner include those with retired elderly persons as well as unemployed members. [link]
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [link]
Household income disparity
The disparity in household income had widened in 2000, reflecting the faster income growth for the higher-income households. The Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, rose from 0.446 in 1998 to 0.481 in 2000. Other measures of income inequality also indicated similar trend of increasing disparity in household income. [link]'' Source: Singapore Department of Statistics. [link]''
In the United Nations [Development Programme Report 2004, (page 50-53)], Singapore's Gini coefficient based on income is 0.425 in 1998, which is ranked 78 among 127 countries in income equality (see list of countries by income equality).
References
See also
External links
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