SINGAPORE, Sept 29 — The total population in Singapore is finally back above the level in 2019 before the pandemic led to a temporary exodus of people including permanent residents (PRs).

The country's total population, which includes citizens, PRs and all non-residents, grew 5 per cent to 5.92 million as of June 2023 from a year earlier when it stood at 5.64 million.

In June 2019, before Covid-19 caused major disruptions to economies and population movements across the globe, Singapore's total population stood at 5.7 million.

With travel restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic easing, the return of citizens and PRs living overseas was the largest contributing factor to increases in citizen and PR populations.

These statistics were a part of the Government’s annual Population in Brief report released on Friday (Sept 29).

When it came to citizens, there had been an increase of 1.6 per cent to 3.61 million Singaporeans in June this year from 3.55 million a year earlier.

Even though the number of citizen births fell, attributed to a reluctance of some Chinese to have babies in the Tiger lunar year, the country welcomed 23,082 new citizens.

PR populations also increased to 540,000, up 3.7 per cent from 520,000 last year.

The non-resident population, which includes the foreign workforce across all pass types, their dependants and international students increased by 13.1 per cent in the same period, standing at 1.77 million as of this June this year.

More work passes were granted to non-residents across all pass types as the Ministry of Manpower reported an increase in foreign employment growth from 98,000 to 162,000.

The rise in the number of Work Permit Holders was especially large in the industries of construction, marine shipyard and process sectors, as contractors hired more workers to resume projects put on hold by Covid-19.After adjusting for the decline in total population in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, the average total population growth rate over the past five years was comparable to the preceding five-year period of 2013 to 2018.

The following is a breakdown of the data.

Overall population

Singapore’s total population stood at 5.92 million as of June 2023

There were 3.61 million Singapore citizens, an increase of 1.6 per cent from 3.55 million in June 2022

There were 540,000 PRs, a 3.7 per cent increase from June 2022

The non-resident population, which includes the foreign workforce across all pass types, their dependants and international students, totalled 1.77 million. This marked an increase of 13.1 per cent from June 2022.

Immigration and citizenship

- In 2022, 23,082 individuals were granted citizenship and 34,493 individuals were granted PR

- This was an increase from 21,537 citizenship applications and 33,435 PR applications granted in 2021

- The number of citizenships and PRs was slightly higher than the 22,714 citizenship applications and 32,915 PR applications granted in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic

- Applicants unable to complete in-person processes for the grant of citizenship or PR in 2020 and 2021 have since managed to complete the relevant processes in 2022, contributing to the increase in numbers.

Ageing population

- The proportion of citizens aged 54 and above has grown from 11.7 per cent in 2013 to 19.1 per cent in 2023

- The median age of citizen population has steadily increased to 43 years from 42.8 years between June 2022 and June 2023

- Since 2013, the number of citizens aged 80 and above has jumped by about 70 per cent from 80,000 in 2013 to 136,000 in 2023

Record high number of marriages

Citizen marriages hit a record high of 24,767 marriages in 2022

This was the second consecutive year of increase in citizen marriages, up by 5.7 per cent from 23,433 marriages in 2021

However, the annual average number of citizen marriages in the last five years is still lower at 22,700 compared to that of the average 23,600 marriages for the preceding five years

People continue to get married later, as the median age at first marriage for citizen grooms and brides was 30.5 years for men and 28.8 years for women in 2022, up from 30.1 and 27.7 years respectively in 2012

Total fertility rate at all time low

There were 30,429 citizen births in 2022, fewer than the 31,713 citizen births in 2021

The annual average number of citizen births from 2018 to 2022 was 31,800, remaining lower than the preceding five years’ average of 32,700

The resident total fertility rate hit a historic low of 1.04, after steadily declining over the past few decades. The replacement rate needed to maintain the existing population level is regarded as 2.1

Lower births last year have been attributed to the year of the Tiger in the lunar calendar, which is generally associated with fewer births among the Chinese population as some see Tiger babies as rebellious

The median age of citizen mothers giving birth to their first child was 31.3 years in 2022, marking an increase over the decade from 30.1 years in 2012. — TODAY