Singapore's population now 5.47 million, slowest growth in 10 years

Singapore's population now 5.47 million, slowest growth in 10 years

SINGAPORE - Singapore recorded its lowest annual population growth in a decade in the year up to June 2014, due to slower growth in the non-resident population.

According to figures released in the Department of Statistics' Population Trends 2014 report, Singapore's total population was 5.47 million as of June 2014 with 3.87 million residents and 1.6 million non-residents.

 The resident population comprised 3.34 million Singapore citizens and 0.53 million permanent residents.

Singapore's total population in 2014 recorded 1.3 per cent growth, lower than the 1.6 per cent growth recorded in 2013.

The number of Singapore citizens grew by 0.9 per cent, but non-resident growth slowed to 2.9 per cent from 4.0 per cent last year.

The National Population and Talent Division said in its report that slower growth in the non-resident population was "due to concrete steps taken to slow the growth of our foreign workforce to a more sustainable pace."

The report also showed that the proportion of married persons in the resident population fell from 62 per cent to 60 per cent. A total of 26,254 marriages were registered in 2013, 6 per cent lower than the 27,936 in 2012.

As for singles, there was a 70 per cent increase of single men aged between 25 and 29 in 203, and a 46 per cent increase of single women in the same age group.

The report also stated that there is was significant proportion of males and females in their 30s who remained single last year.

The total fertility rate also showed a decline, with only 1.19 births per female in 2013 as compared to 1.29 in 2012. The decrease was seen across all ethnic groups, with Chinese experiencing the largest decline.Reflecting Singapore's ageing population, the median age of the resident population increased to 39.3 years in 2014 from 38.9 in 2013. The proportion of citizens aged 65 years and above also increased from 11.7 per cent in 2013 to 12.4 per cent in 2014.

Figures also showed that women residents continued to outnumber men, with a sex ratio of 967 males per 1,000 females in 2014.

seanyap@sph.com.sg

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