Editing Demographics of Singapore (section)

== History ==

===Population growth===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; text-align:center; margin:1em;"
|-
|+ '''Population growth and immigration in selected periods'''<ref name="saw2">{{cite book |author=Saw Swee-Hock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dD2qVu8EpdUC&pg=PA14 |title=The Population of Singapore |date=30 June 2012 |publisher=ISEAS Publishing |isbn=978-981-4380-98-0 |edition=3rd |pages=11–18}}</ref>
|-
!style="width:6em;"| Period
!style="width:7em;"| Population increase
!style="width:7em;"| Natural increase
!style="width:7em;"| Net immigration
|-
|align=left|1881–1891
| 43,857
| −30,932{{ref|1|A}}
| 74,798
|-
|align=left|1901–1911
| 75,729
| −59,978{{ref|1|A}}
| 135,707
|-
|align=left|1921–1931
| 230,387
| 18,176
| 212,211
|-
|align=left|1947–1957
| 507,800
| 395,600
| 112,200
|-
|align=left|1970–1980
| 339,400
| 315,400
| 24,000
|-
|align=left|1990–2000
| 980,755
| 325,887
| 654,868
|-
|align=left|2000–2010
| 1,048,845
| 224,718
| 824,127
|-
|align=left|2010–2020
| 609,075
| 203,643
| 405,432
|-
|colspan=4|
*<small>{{note|1|A}} Negative figures are due to low birth rate and high death rate</small>
|}
{{see also|Immigration to Singapore}}

Population growth in Singapore was fueled by immigration for a long period of time, starting soon after [[Stamford Raffles]] landed in Singapore in 1819, when the population of the island was estimated to be around 1,000.<ref name="rahim">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1utb8ZYyUeQC&pg=PA24 |title=Singapore in the Malay World: Building and Breaching Regional Bridges |date=9 November 2010 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-134-01397-5 |page=24 |author=Lily Zubaidah Rahim}}</ref> The first official census taken in January 1824 showed that the resident population of Singapore had grown to 10,683: 4,580 Malays, 3,317 Chinese, 1,925 [[Bugis]], 756 natives of India, 74 Europeans, 16 Armenians, and 15 Arabs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bernard |first=F. J. |date=15 November 1884 |title=An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore |work=The Straits Times |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes18841115-1.2.11 |url-status=live |access-date=20 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130210434/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes18841115-1.2.11 |archive-date=30 January 2018}}</ref> Chinese males greatly outnumbered the females; in the 1826 population figures there were 5,747 Chinese males but only 341 Chinese females, in contrast to 2,501 Malay males and 2,289 Malay females. The figures for around a thousand Indians in 1826 were also similarly skewed towards male – 209 male and 35 female [[Bengalis]], 772 males and 5 females from the [[Coromandel Coast]].<ref name="census 1826">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924023134368#page/n43/mode/2up |title=Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources |date=1907 |editor=Wright, Arnold |page=37 |editor2=Cartwright, H.A.}}</ref> By 1836, the population figure had risen to 29,980, and marked a change in demographics as the Malays were outnumbered for the first time; 45.9% of the population were Chinese versus 41.9% for Malays (including Javanese and Bugis).<ref name="census 1836">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50ZFAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA41 |title=The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume 22 |date=30 March 2009 |publisher=Charles Knight |isbn=978-0-8248-3354-1 |page=41}}</ref><ref name="jstor1">{{cite journal |author=Saw Swee-Hock |date=March 1969 |title=Population Trends in Singapore, 1819–1967 |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian History |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=36–49 |doi=10.1017/S0217781100004270 |jstor=20067730}}</ref> Women from China were discouraged from emigrating, and most of the Chinese females in this early period of Singapore were likely {{transliteration|ms|[[Peranakan|nyonyas]]}} from [[Malacca]]; it was noted in 1837 that there were no Chinese women in Singapore who had emigrated directly from China.<ref name="jstor1" />

The imbalance of the sexes continued for a long period, for example, the 1901 census figures show that there were 130,367 Chinese males compared to 33,674 Chinese females.<ref>{{cite book |section=Straits Settlements |section-url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924030396067#page/n189/mode/2up/search/singapore |title=Census of the British empire. 1901 |date=1906 |publisher=Great Britain Census Office |page=123}}</ref> Such imbalance also meant that fewer people were born in early Singapore, and in the first hundred years, most of the Chinese population in Singapore were immigrants. By the late 1890s, only around 10% of the Chinese population in Singapore were born there.<ref name="warren">{{cite book |author=James Francis Warren |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wVyqbmHS2zQC&pg=PA19 |title=Rickshaw Coolie: A People's History of Singapore, 1880–1940 |date=30 June 2003 |publisher=NUS Press |isbn=978-9971-69-266-7 |page=19}}</ref> Many of the early migrant workers from China and India did not intend to settle permanently to raise their families in Singapore; they worked to send back remittance to their families back home, and would return to China or India after they had earned enough money. Later an increasing number of Chinese chose to settle permanently in Singapore, especially in the 1920s when it became more favourable to stay in Singapore rather than returning to China. Change in social attitude in the modern era also meant that Chinese women were freer to emigrate from China, and the sex ratio began to normalise.<ref name="jstor1" /> This gradual normalisation of sex ratio led to an increase in the number of native births. Immigration continued to be the main reason for the Chinese population increase in Singapore until the 1931–1947 period when the natural increase in population surpassed the net immigration figure.<ref name="warren" /><ref name="Saw Swee-Hock 12">{{cite book |author=Saw Swee-Hock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dD2qVu8EpdUC&pg=PA12 |title=The Population of Singapore |date=30 June 2012 |publisher=ISEAS Publishing |isbn=978-981-4380-98-0 |edition=3rd |page=12}}</ref>

After [[World War II]], in the period from 1947 to 1957, Singapore saw a massive population increase mostly due to increased number of native births.<ref name="Natalism">{{cite journal |last=Wong |first=Theresa |author2=Brenda Yeoh |year=2003 |title=Fertility and the Family: An Overview of Pro-natalist Population Policies in Singapore |url=http://www.populationasia.org/Publications/RP/AMCRP12.pdf |journal=Asian Metacentre Research Paper Series |issue=12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727182245/http://www.populationasia.org/Publications/RP/AMCRP12.pdf |archive-date=27 July 2011 |access-date=12 August 2011}}</ref> The birth rate rose and the death rate fell; the average annual growth rate was 4.4%, of which 1% was due to immigration; Singapore experienced its highest birth rate in 1957 at 42.7 per thousand individuals. (This was also the same year the [[United States]] saw its peak birth rate.)

Immigration to Singapore also fell sharply after Singapore independence due to tighter control of immigration from Malaysia and other countries. The population increase became dominated by native births with 315,400 in the 1970–1980 period due to natural increase compared to 24,000 from net migration. However, a lower rate of natural growth in population and the need for low-skill labour resulted in a deliberate shift in policy by the Singapore government to allow more foreigners to live and work in the country, and net migration increased in the 1980–1990 period to nearly 200,000. By the decade of 1990–2000, the net migrant number of over 600,000 had surpassed the natural growth of the population, and accounted for nearly two-thirds of the population increase. The same high level of immigration is also seen in the next decade with 664,083 net migration recorded.<ref name="saw2" />
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin:1em;"
! Net migration rate
| align="right" | 9.12 migrants/1,000 population (2006 est.)
|}
Due to the continued low birth rate, amongst other reasons, the Singapore government has varied its [[Immigration to Singapore|immigration policy]] over the years. As the demand for labour grew with industrialisation, foreign talent with professional qualifications as well as less-skilled foreign workers has made up a significant and increasing proportion of Singapore's total population since the 2000s and 2010s. Curbs on immigration, however, began to be implemented in the 2010s to ease increasing social issues arising from the high level of immigration.<ref name="ST 2015">{{cite news |author=Rachel Chang |date=3 August 2015 |title=No easy choices on foreign worker, immigrant policies: PM Lee |work=The Straits Times |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/no-easy-choices-on-foreign-worker-immigrant-policies-pm-lee |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116183146/http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/no-easy-choices-on-foreign-worker-immigrant-policies-pm-lee |archive-date=16 January 2017}}</ref>

===Population planning===
{{main|Population planning in Singapore}}

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; text-align:center; margin:1em;"
|+ Per-period population growth, 1947—2000<ref name="Natalism" />
|-
!Period || Growth rate
|- style="text-align:right"
|1947—1957 || 84.7%
|- style="text-align:right"
|1957—1970 || 90.8%
|- style="text-align:right"
|1970—1980 || 13.3%
|- style="text-align:right"
|1980—1990 || 18.5%
|- style="text-align:right"
|1990— 2000 || 20.6%
|}
The post-war boom in births led to an interest in family planning, and by 1960, the government publicly funded and supported family planning programmes. After independence in 1965, the birth rate had fallen to 29.5 per thousand individuals, and the natural growth rate had fallen to 2.5%. Birth rates in the 1960s were still perceived as high by the government; on average, a baby was born every 11 minutes in 1965. [[Kandang Kerbau Hospital]] (KKH)—which specialised in women's health and was the most popular hospital to have children—saw over 100 deliveries per day in 1962. In 1966, KKH delivered 39835 babies, earning it a place in the [[Guinness Book of World Records]] for "largest number of births in a single maternity facility" for ten years. Because there was generally a massive shortage of beds in that era, mothers with routine deliveries were discharged from hospitals within 24 hours.<ref name="a2ofam">{{cite web |title=Family Planning |url=http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/html/etc/07_family.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812063927/http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/html/etc/07_family.htm |archive-date=12 August 2011 |access-date=12 August 2011 |work=[[National Archives]] |publisher=Government of Singapore}}</ref>

In September 1965 the [[Ministry of Health (Singapore)|Minister for Health]], [[Yong Nyuk Lin]], submitted a white paper to Parliament, recommending a "Five-year Mass Family Planning programme" that would reduce the birth rate to 20.0 per thousand individuals by 1970. In 1966, the Family Planning and Population Board (FPPB) had been established based on the findings of the white paper, providing clinical services and public education on [[family planning]].<ref name="LOC1989">{{cite web |title=Singapore: Population Control Policies |url=http://www.photius.com/countries/singapore/society/singapore_society_population_control_p~11008.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411115633/http://www.photius.com/countries/singapore/society/singapore_society_population_control_p~11008.html |archive-date=11 April 2011 |access-date=11 August 2011 |work=Library of Congress Country Studies (1989) |publisher=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref>

By 1970, the [[Eugenics in Singapore#Stop at Two|''Stop at Two'']] campaign was firmly established, implementing incentives, disincentives and public exhortation to discourage families from having more than two children. After 1975, the fertility rate declined below replacement level, in a sign that Singapore was undergoing the [[demographic transition]]. In 1983, the ''Graduate Mothers' Scheme'' was implemented in an attempt to get educated women, especially women with a university degree, to marry and procreate, while the government encouraged women without an [[GCE Ordinary Level|O-level degree]] to get [[sterilization (medicine)|sterilised]]. This was done out of the [[Lee Kuan Yew]] government's belief that for the nation to best develop and avoid hardship, the educated classes should be encouraged to contribute to the nation's breeding pool, while the uneducated should not, sparking the ''Great Marriage Debate''.<ref name="LOC1989" />

In 1986, the government reversed its population policy—except its stance on low-income, lowly-educated women—and initiated the [[Eugenics in Singapore|Have Three or More (if you can afford it)]] campaign, offering cash and public administration incentives to have children. In 2001, the Singapore government started its [[Baby Bonus]] scheme.

Singapore has one of the lowest [[fertility rate]]s in the world.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} In 2012, Singapore total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.20 children born per woman, a [[sub-replacement fertility]] rate. Ethnic Chinese had a fertility of 1.07 in 2004 (1.65 in 1990), while Malays had a TFR of 2.10 (2.69 in 1990). Both figures declined further in 2006. TFR for Indians was 1.30 in 2004 and 1.89 in 1990.<ref>{{cite web |last=Webb |first=Sara |date=26 April 2006 |title=Pushing for babies: S'pore fights fertility decline |url=http://www.singapore-window.org/sw06/060426re.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316020939/http://www.singapore-window.org/sw06/060426re.htm |archive-date=16 March 2007 |work=Singapore Windows |agency=Reuters}}</ref> The Singapore government has launched several highly publicised attempts to raise the fertility rate and increase awareness of the negative effects of an ageing population, the elderly (65 and above) had constituted 9.9% of its population in 2012; this proportion is still significantly lower than that of many other developed nations, such as the United States and Japan. In February 2015, [[National University of Singapore]] launched the "New Age Institute" in conjunction with [[Washington University in St. Louis]] to conduct research on this issue.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/nai/about/about-NAI.html |access-date=16 February 2020 |website=fas.nus.edu.sg}}</ref>

=== Area planning ===
{{main|Planning areas of Singapore|New towns of Singapore}}

The population of Singapore are generally housed within [[New towns of Singapore|new towns]], which are large scale satellite housing developments designed to be self contained. It includes public housing units, private housing, a town centre and other amenities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wong |first=Maisy |date=July 2014 |title=Estimating the distortionary effects of ethnic quotas in Singapore using housing transactions |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=real-estate_papers |journal=Journal of Public Economics |volume=115 |pages=131–145 |doi=10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.04.006 |s2cid=52236776}}</ref> Since the 1950s, Singapore had a city centre surrounded by slums and squatter colonies. By 1959 when Singapore attained self government, the problem of housing shortage had grown. Combined with a fast population growth, it led to congestion and squalor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Field |first=Brian |date=1 January 1992 |title=Singapore's New Town prototype: a textbook prescription? |journal=Habitat International |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=89–101 |doi=10.1016/0197-3975(92)90066-8}}</ref> The [[Planned community|new towns]] planning concept was introduced in July 1952 by the country's public housing authority, [[Housing and Development Board|Housing and Development Board (HDB)]], to counter the housing shortage problem and to relocate most of the population crammed within the city centre to other parts of the island.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of HDB |url=http://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/about-us/history |access-date=20 January 2017 |website=Housing & Development Board}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tuan Seik |first=Foo |date=1 February 2001 |title=Planning and design of Tampines, an award-winning high-rise, high-density township in Singapore |journal=Cities |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=33–42 |doi=10.1016/S0264-2751(00)00052-4}}</ref> Today, there are 23 new towns and 3 estates within the country, with Bedok being the largest by area and population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=&#91;&#91;Urban Redevelopment Authority{{!}}URA&#93;&#93; Planning Area Brochure – Bedok |url=http://www.ura.gov.sg/MS/DMP2013/regional-highlights/~/media/dmp2013/Planning%20Area%20Brochures/Brochure_Bedok_1.ashx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216022913/http://www.ura.gov.sg/MS/DMP2013/regional-highlights/~/media/dmp2013/Planning%20Area%20Brochures/Brochure_Bedok_1.ashx |archive-date=16 February 2015 |access-date=5 October 2014}}</ref>

===Population white paper===
{{main|Population White Paper}}

In early 2013, the [[Parliament of Singapore]] debated over the policies recommended by the Population White Paper entitled ''A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore''. Citing that Singapore's 900,000 Baby Boomers would comprise a quarter of the citizen population by 2030 and that its workforce would shrink "from 2020 onwards", the White Paper projected that by 2030, Singapore's "total population could range between 6.5 and 6.9 million", with resident population between 4.2 and 4.4 million and citizen population between 3.6 and 3.8 million. The White Paper called for an increase in the number of foreign workers so as to provide balance between the number of skilled and less-skilled workers, as well as provide healthcare and domestic services. It also claimed that foreign workers help businesses thrive when the economy is good.<ref>{{cite web |title=''A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore''. |url=http://202.157.171.46/whitepaper/downloads/population-white-paper.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218092002/http://202.157.171.46/whitepaper/downloads/population-white-paper.pdf |archive-date=18 February 2013}}</ref> The motion was passed<ref>[http://www.straitstimes.com/microsites/parliament/story/amended-motion-white-paper-adopted-69-million-not-target-20130209 Amended motion on white paper adopted; 6.9 million is not a target.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130304202829/http://www.straitstimes.com/microsites/parliament/story/amended-motion-white-paper-adopted-69-million-not-target-20130209|date=4 March 2013}} ''The Straits Times''. 9 February 2013.</ref> albeit after amendments made to leave out "population policy" and add focus on infrastructure and transport development.

The White Paper was heavily criticised and panned by opposition parties and government critics.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Workers' Party's Population Policy Paper: "A Dynamic Population for a Sustainable Singapore": The Workers' Party of Singapore |url=http://wp.sg/2013/02/the-workers-partys-population-policy-paper-a-dynamic-population-for-a-sustainable-singapore/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301085335/http://wp.sg/2013/02/the-workers-partys-population-policy-paper-a-dynamic-population-for-a-sustainable-singapore/ |archive-date=1 March 2013 |access-date=9 March 2013}} The Workers' Party's Population Policy Paper: "A Dynamic Population for a Sustainable Singapore" ''The Workers' Party''.</ref> Member of Parliament [[Low Thia Khiang]] of the [[Workers' Party of Singapore]] had criticised current measures of increasing the fertility rate, claiming that this would lead to an increase of a higher cost of living and discourage young couples from having more kids. As for current immigration policies, he had noted that immigrants were a source of friction for Singaporeans and that an increased population would put more stress and strain on the urban infrastructure.<ref>[http://wp.sg/2013/02/a-sustainable-singapore-with-a-dynamic-singaporean-majority-mp-low-thia-khiang/ A Sustainable Singapore with a Dynamic Singaporean majority – MP Low Thia Khiang] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315182137/http://wp.sg/2013/02/a-sustainable-singapore-with-a-dynamic-singaporean-majority-mp-low-thia-khiang|date=15 March 2013}} ''The Workers' Party''.</ref> On 16 February 2013, nearly 3,000 people rallied to protest against the White Paper at [[Hong Lim Park]] and raised concerns that the increased population would lead to the deterioration of public service and the increase of the cost of living.<ref>{{cite web |date=17 February 2013 |title=Rare Singapore protest against population plan |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/02/17/rare-singapore-protest-against-population-plan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218035052/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/02/17/rare-singapore-protest-against-population-plan.html |archive-date=18 February 2013}}</ref>