Singaporean citizens (Source: TODAY)Singapore's population rose only 1.2 percent year-on-year to 5.54 million as of June 2015, the lowest rate over the last decade in the country, according to a report released by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) on September 30.
The NPDT said the situation is attributed to a tumble in the number of non-residents in the country such as foreigners living and working in Singapore and their families as well as students, which only increased by 2.1 percent to 1.63 million in the reviewed period, down 0.8 percent against the figure from the same period last year.
Measures taken by the Singaporean Government to control foreign immigrants decreased the number of foreign employees working in the country to only 23,000 in 2014-2015 after reaching a record 77,000 in 2011-2012.
The report also showed that t here were more than 33,000 citizen births i n the period , the highest number in the last 10 years. At the same time, the country also witnessed a strong increase of the rate of Singaporeans getting married, with 24,037 registered citizen marriages.
The proportion of citizens aged 65 and above increased 13.1 percent in the reviewed period from 12.4 percent in the previous year. The medium age of Singapore citizens also rose from 40.4 to 40.7 years. Currently, there are 4.9 citizens in the working band of 20-64 years for each citizen aged 65 and above, down from 7.2 a decade ago.
The Singaporean Government plans to grant citizenships to 15,000-25,000 people per year as part of its efforts to prevent its citizen population from shrinking, the report said.-VNA
