SINGAPORE, Sept 27 — After two years of decline due to pandemic border restrictions, Singapore’s total population grew by 3.4 per cent to 5.64 million in June 2022 from a year earlier.

However, this is slightly below the pre-Covid level of 5.7 million in June 2019.

This increase was spurred by the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, as more citizens and permanent residents (PRs) who had been living overseas returned to Singapore.

These statistics were among the latest data from the Government’s annual Population in Brief report released today.

The non-resident population rose by 6.6 per cent in this same period to 1.56 million, contributing to the overall population’s increase. However, the non-resident population was also still lower than pre-Covid level of 1.68 million in June 2019.

This was mostly a result of the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, and the largest increase of non-resident population was for work permit holders in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors.

In 2021, 33,435 individuals were granted PR status — the highest figure since 2009, when Singapore tightened its immigration framework.

This was higher in 2020 due to the easing of travel restrictions and safe management measures, as the process to grant citizenship or permanent residence has to be completed in person.

TODAY breaks down the data.

Overall population