Singapore’s population growth slowest in nine years

At the end of June, Singapore’s total population stood at 5.4 million, a rise of 1.6 percent over last year - the slowest in nine years.
At the end of June, Singapore’s total population stood at 5.4million, a rise of 1.6 percent over last year - the slowest in nineyears.

The total population grew over last year at its slowestpace since 2004 was partly due to tightened foreign manpower policiesand weaker economic conditions.

There are now 3.31 millionSingapore citizens, making up about 61 percent of the total population,the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) said in its annualPopulation in Brief report.

Together with 0.53 million permanentresidents (PRs), the total number of residents stands at 3.84 million,or 71 percent of the total, it added.

Non-residents number about1.55 million (29 percent of the total population), of them studentsaccounting for 5 percent; S-Pass holders, 10 percent; Employment Passholders, 11 percent; foreign domestic workers, 13 percent; dependants ofcitizens/PRs/Workpass holders, 15 percent; and Work Permit holders, 46percent.

Singapore's population is ageing. The proportion ofcitizens aged 65 years and above increased from 7.8 percent in 2002 to11.7 percent in 2013. Currently, for each citizen aged 65 and above,there are 5.5 citizens in the working age band of 20 to 64 years old.

About30,000 PRs are granted each year since 2009 “to keep the PR populationstable at between 0.5 million and 0.6 million and to ensure a pool ofsuitable candidates for citizenship”, said the NPTD.

It addedthat over the last five years, about 20,000 people were grantedcitizenship each year. “We plan to continue this calibrated rate ofimmigration of between 15,000 and 25,000 new citizens each year to keepour citizen population from shrinking,” NPTD said.-VNA

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