Editing Singapore (section)

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Singapore|Singaporeans}}
{{See also|Race in Singapore}}
[[File:KITLV - 103763 - Chinese and Malaysian women at Singapore - circa 1890.tif|upright|thumb|Chinese ([[East Asian people|East Asian]]), Malay ([[Indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia|Southeast Asian]]), and Indian ([[South Asian ethnic groups|South Asian]]) women in Singapore, {{Circa|1890}}. To promote racial harmony among the three races, a unique [[Racial Harmony Day]] is celebrated on 21 July every year.]]
As of mid-2023, the estimated population of Singapore was 5,917,600, of whom 3,610,700 (61.6%) were [[Singaporean nationality law|citizens]] and the remaining 2,306,900 (38.4%) were either [[Permanent residency in Singapore|permanent residents]] (522,300) or [[international student]]s, [[foreign worker]]s, or [[dependant]]s (1,644,500).<ref name="Population and Population Structure">{{cite web |title=Population and Population Structure |publisher=Department of Statistics Singapore |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/population-and-population-structure/latest-data|access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116052657/https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/population-and-population-structure/latest-data |archive-date=16 November 2023}}</ref> The overall population increased 5% from the prior year, driven largely by foreign workers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kok |first=Xinghui |title=Singapore's population grows 5% as foreign workers return post-pandemic |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapores-population-grows-5-foreign-workers-return-post-pandemic-2023-09-29/ |website=Reuters}}</ref>  This proportion is largely unchanged from the 2010 census.<ref name=2010census>{{cite report |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/c2010acr.pdf |title=Census of Population 2010 Advance Census Release |pages=13–16 |isbn=978-981-08-6819-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327064912/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/c2010acr.pdf|archive-date=27 March 2012|url-status=dead |publisher=Singapore Department of Statistics |year=2010|access-date=2 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="un.org">[https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/migration/mig-stock.pdf "Trends in international migrant stock: The 2008 revision"], United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2009).</ref>

The 2020 census reported that about 74.3% of residents were of Chinese descent, 13.5% of Malay descent, 9.0% of Indian descent, and 3.2% of other descent (such as [[Eurasians in Singapore|Eurasian]]); this proportion was virtually identical to the 2010 census, with slight increases among Chinese and Malay (0.2% and 0.1% respectively) and minor decreases in Indian and others (0.2% and 0.1%).<ref>[https://www.parliament.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/cop2020sr1.pdf Singapore Department of Statistics | Census of Population 2020 Statistical Release 1 – Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion], '''p. 20'''.</ref><ref name=2010census /> Prior to 2010, each person could register as a member of only one race, by default that of his or her father; therefore, mixed-race persons were solely grouped under their father's race in government censuses. From 2010 onward, people may register using a multi-racial classification, in which they may choose one primary race and one secondary race, but no more than two.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1030142/1/.html |title=Singaporeans of mixed race allowed to 'double barrel' race in IC |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |author=Hoe Yeen Nie |date=12 January 2010 |access-date=18 February 2011 |archive-date=6 February 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100206100917/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1030142/1/.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Like other developed countries in Asia, Singapore experienced a rapid decline in its [[total fertility rate]] (TFR) beginning in the 1980s.<ref name="imf.org">{{Cite web |title=Lessons from Singapore on Raising Fertility Rates – IMF F&D |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/03/lessons-from-singapore-on-raising-fertility-rates-tan |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=IMF |language=en}}</ref> Since 2010, its TFR has largely plateaued at 1.1 children per woman, which is among the lowest in the world and well below the 2.1 needed to replace the population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Bank Open Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/ |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=World Bank Open Data |quote=Fertility rate, total (births per woman) – Singapore; ( 1 ) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2022 Revision. ( 2 ) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, ( 3 ) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, ( 4 ) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report ( various years ), ( 5 ) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and ( 6 ) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.}}</ref> Consequently, the median age of Singaporean residents is among the highest in the world, at 42.8 in 2022 compared to 39.6 ten years earlier.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Singapore: citizen population median age 1970–2022 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1304574/singapore-citizen-population-median-age/ |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=Statista |language=en}}</ref> Starting in 2001, the government [[Population planning in Singapore|introduced a series of programmes]] to increase fertility, including paid maternity leave, childcare subsidies, tax relief and rebates, one-time cash gifts, and grants for companies that implement flexible work arrangements;<ref name="imf.org"/> nevertheless, live births have continued to decline, hitting a record low in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacob |first=Charmaine |date=18 September 2023 |title=Singapore's birth rate is at a record low — but 'throwing money' at the problem won't solve it |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/18/singapores-birth-rate-is-falling-and-throwing-money-at-the-problem-wont-solve-it-.html |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> Singapore's immigration policy is designed to alleviate the decline and maintain its working-age population.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/257208/1/.html |title=Singapore's birth trend outlook remains dismal |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |date=7 February 2007 |first=Julia |last=Ng|access-date=22 April 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105180711/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/257208/1/.html|archive-date=5 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Callaghan |first1=John |title=Tiny Singapore risks economic gloom without big baby boom |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-singapore-babies/tiny-singapore-risks-economic-gloom-without-big-baby-boom-idUKLNE87U00H20120831 |access-date=17 May 2021 |work=Reuters |date=31 August 2012}}</ref><ref>Jessica Pan and Walter Theseira, [https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/080a4bc64cc8a9eb8a2a0e98d97a260a-0050062023/original/WDR-Immigration-in-Singapore-FORMATTED.pdf Immigration in Singapore] – Background paper to the World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies (April 2023)</ref>

91% of resident households (i.e. households headed by a Singapore citizen or permanent resident) own the homes they live in, and the average household size is 3.43 persons (which include dependants who are neither citizens nor permanent residents).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/households/households/latest-data |title=Statistics Singapore – Latest Data – Households & Housing|access-date=27 February 2015}}</ref><ref name=singstat2014h&h>{{cite web |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#20 |title=Statistics Singapore – Latest Data – Households & Housing |year=2014 |publisher=Statistics Singapore|access-date=20 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129094649/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#20|archive-date=29 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, due to scarcity of land, 78.7% of resident households live in [[Public housing in Singapore|subsidised, high-rise, public housing apartments]] developed by the [[Housing and Development Board]] (HDB). Also, 75.9% of resident households live in properties that are equal to, or larger than, a four-room (i.e. three bedrooms plus one living room) HDB flat or in private housing.<ref>{{cite web |title=Singapore Resident Households by dwellings |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/modules/infographics/-/media/Files/visualising_data/infographics/Population/singapore-population13022019|access-date=15 February 2015|archive-date=15 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215160407/https://www.singstat.gov.sg/modules/infographics/-/media/Files/visualising_data/infographics/Population/singapore-population13022019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="hdb">{{cite web |url=http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10320p.nsf/w/HDBWinsUNAward?OpenDocument|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211145036/http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10320p.nsf/w/HDBWinsUNAward?OpenDocument|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 December 2011 |title=HDB InfoWEB: HDB Wins the 2010 UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour Award |publisher=Hdb.gov.sg|access-date=14 October 2013}}</ref> Live-in foreign [[domestic worker]]s are quite common in Singapore, with about 224,500 foreign domestic workers there, as of December 2013.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-than-1-3-million/1297688.html |title=More than 1.3&nbsp;million foreigners working in Singapore: Tan Chuan-Jin |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |location=Singapore |date=5 August 2014|access-date=26 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914232514/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-than-1-3-million/1297688.html|archive-date=14 September 2014}}</ref>
{{Largest planning areas of Singapore}}

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Singapore}}
Most major religious denominations are present in Singapore, with the Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore (IRO) recognising 10 major religions in the city state.<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction – Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore |url=https://iro.sg/about-iro/ |access-date=10 July 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> A 2014 analysis by the [[Pew Research Center]] found Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation, with no single religion claiming a majority.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 April 2014 |title=Global Religious Diversity |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/04/04/global-religious-diversity/ |access-date=10 July 2022 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}</ref>{{bar box
|title=Religion in Singapore, 2020<ref name="census2020" />
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Buddhism in Singapore|Buddhism]]|gold|31.1}}
{{bar percent|[[Irreligion in Singapore|No religion]]|grey|20.0}}
{{bar percent|[[Christianity in Singapore|Christianity]]|purple|18.9}}
{{bar percent|[[Islam in Singapore|Islam]]|green|15.6}}
{{bar percent|[[Taoism in Singapore|Taoism and folk religion]]|red|8.8}}
{{bar percent|[[Hinduism in Singapore|Hinduism]]|orange|5.0}}
{{bar percent|Other religions|blue|0.6}}
}}

[[Buddhism in Singapore|Buddhism]] is the most widely practised religion, with 31% of residents declaring themselves adherents in the 2020 census. [[Christianity in Singapore|Christianity]] was the second largest religion at 18.9%, followed by [[Islam in Singapore|Islam]] (15.6%), [[Taoism in Singapore|Taoism]] and [[Chinese folk religion|Chinese Traditional Beliefs]] (8.8%) and [[Hinduism in Singapore|Hinduism]] (5.0%). One-fifth of the population had no religious affiliation. The proportion of Christians, Muslims, and the nonreligious slightly increased between 2010 and 2020, while the proportion of Buddhists and Taoists slightly decreased; Hinduism and other faiths remained largely stable in their share of the population.<ref name=2010censuspercentage>{{cite press release |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/news/news/press12012011.pdf |title=Census of population 2010: Statistical Release 1 on Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion |publisher=Singapore Department of Statistics |date=12 January 2011 |access-date=16 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110124160522/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/news/news/press12012011.pdf |archive-date=24 January 2011}}</ref>{{cn|date=March 2025|reason=The sentence discusses an increase between 2010 and 2020, but the citation is from 2011.}}

Singapore hosts monasteries and [[Dharma]] centres from all three major traditions of Buddhism: [[Theravada]], [[Mahayana]], and [[Vajrayana]]. Most Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese and adhere to the Mahayana tradition,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBdX2ELnkXQC&pg=PR8 |title=State, society, and religious engineering: toward a reformist Buddhism in Singapore |author=Khun Eng Kuah |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |location=Singapore |access-date=1 November 2010 |isbn=978-981-230-865-8 |year=2009}}</ref> owing to decades of missionary activity from China. However, [[Buddhism in Thailand|Thailand's Theravada Buddhism]] has seen growing popularity among the populace (not only the Chinese) during the past decade. [[Soka Gakkai International]], a Japanese Buddhist organisation, is practised by many people in Singapore, and mostly by those of Chinese descent. [[Tibetan Buddhism]] has also made slow inroads into the country in recent years.<ref>{{cite news |title=Modernity in south-east Asia |publisher=Informaworld |date=2 December 1995}}</ref>

=== Languages ===
{{Main|Languages of Singapore}}
Singapore has four official languages: [[Singaporean English|English]], [[Malay language|Malay]], [[Singaporean Mandarin|Mandarin]], and [[Tamil language|Tamil]].<ref name="statutes.agc.gov.sg">{{Singapore legislation|title=Republic of Singapore Independence Act|ed=1985}}, s7.</ref>
{{bar box
|title=Language used most frequently at home<ref name="census2020" />
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Language
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|English|blue|48.3}}
{{bar percent|Mandarin|yellow|29.9}}
{{bar percent|Malay|red|9.2}}
{{bar percent|Other Sinitic languages|purple|8.7}}
{{bar percent|Tamil|green|2.5}}
{{bar percent|Others|grey|1.4}}
}}

English is the [[lingua franca]]<ref name="Gupta 244–263">{{cite journal |url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/staff/afg/pragp3.doc |title=Epistemic modalities and the discourse particles of Singapore |first=A.F. |last=Gupta |editor=Fischer, K. |format=DOC |journal=Approaches to Discourse Particles |publisher=Elsevier |location=Amsterdam |pages=244–263|access-date=2 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205010214/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/staff/afg/pragp3.doc|archive-date=5 February 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Dixon, L. Quentin 2005 p. 625-635" /><ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite press release |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp31032000a.htm |date=31 March 2000 |title=Global Literacy: The advantage of speaking good English |publisher=Ministry of Education |access-date=27 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306034004/http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp31032000a.htm|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=TanShermanp340-341>Tan, Sherman, p. 340–341. "The four recognised official languages are English, Mandarin, Tamil, and Malay, but in practice, English is Singapore's default lingua franca."</ref> and the main language used in business, government, law and education.<ref name="Britishcouncil">{{cite web |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/eumd-partnership-webzine-october-2010-country-focus.htm#singapore|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110402172957/http://www.britishcouncil.org/eumd-partnership-webzine-october-2010-country-focus.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 April 2011 |title=Education UK Partnership&nbsp;– Country focus |date=October 2010 |publisher=[[British Council]]|access-date=27 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2010/04/19/speech-by-mr-s-iswaran-at-the-apec-relc-int-seminar-opening-ceremony.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519070557/http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2010/04/19/speech-by-mr-s-iswaran-at-the-apec-relc-int-seminar-opening-ceremony.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 May 2011 |title=Speech by Mr S. Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education |date=19 April 2010 |publisher=Ministry of Education}}</ref> The [[Constitution of Singapore]] and all government legislation is written in English, and [[Language interpretation|interpreters]] are required if a language other than English is used in the [[Judicial system of Singapore|Singaporean courts]].<ref>{{cite web |title=What do I do if I can't speak English? |url=http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/criminal/page.aspx?pageid=64541#faq13-9|access-date=11 October 2011 |publisher=Singapore Subordinate Courts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709074333/http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/criminal/page.aspx?pageid=64541|archive-date=9 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Singapore legislation|title=Constitution}}</ref> [[Statutory corporation]]s conduct their businesses in English, while any official documents written in a non-English official language such as Malay, Mandarin, or Tamil are typically translated into English to be accepted for use.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.careers.gov.sg/the-singapore-public-service/public-agencies|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106063743/http://www.careers.gov.sg/the-singapore-public-service/public-agencies|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 January 2015 |title=Public Agencies |date=6 January 2015|access-date=21 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="Dixon, L. Quentin 2005 p. 625-635">Dixon, L. Quentin. (2005). The Bilingual Education Policy in Singapore: Implications for Second Language Acquisition. In James Cohen, J., McAlister, K. T., Rolstad, K., and MacSwan, J (Eds.), ''ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism''. p. 625–635, Cascadilla Press, Somerville, MA.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp31032000a.htm |title=31 March 2000 |publisher=Moe.gov.sg|access-date=27 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306034004/http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp31032000a.htm|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Malay language|Malay]] was designated as a national language by the Singaporean government after independence from Britain in the 1960s to avoid friction with Singapore's Malay-speaking neighbours of Malaysia and Indonesia.<ref name="thirdworldtofirst" /> It has a symbolic, rather than functional purpose.<ref name="statutes.agc.gov.sg" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQgjrpgdU6gC&pg=PA42 |title=Language and society in Singapore |publisher=Singapore University Press |first1=Evangelos A. |last1=Afendras |first2=Eddie C.Y. |last2=Kuo |year=1980 |isbn=978-9971-69-016-8 |access-date=27 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMZm0w0k1c4C&pg=PA2018 |title=Sociolinguistics: An international handbook of the science of language and society |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |location=Berlin |first1=Ulrich |last1=Ammon |first2=Norbert |last2=Dittmar |first3=Klaus J. |last3=Mattheier |volume=3 |year=2006 |isbn=978-3-11-018418-1 |access-date=27 February 2011}}</ref> It is used in the national anthem ''[[Majulah Singapura]]'',<ref>{{Singapore legislation |title=Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act |cap=296 |ed=1985}}</ref> in citations of [[Singaporean orders and decorations]] and in military commands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/papers/people/c2000adr-literacy.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091113162718/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/papers/people/c2000adr-literacy.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2009 |url-status=dead |title=Literacy and Language |publisher=Singapore Statistics |access-date=27 February 2011}}</ref><ref name="singstat1" /> Singaporean Malay is officially written in the Latin-based [[Rumi script]], though some Singaporean Malays also learn the Arabic-based [[Jawi alphabet|Jawi script]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Vivian |last2=Bassetti |first2=Benedetta |title=Second Language Writing Systems |date=2005 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-85359-793-0 |page=359 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDLVaYJkyHUC}}</ref> Jawi is considered an ethnic script for use on Singaporean identity cards.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=140 |title=Update Change of Name in IC |publisher=Immigration and Checkpoints Authority |access-date=29 January 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170202101218/https://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=140 |archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref>

Singaporeans are mostly [[bilingual]], typically with English as their common language and their [[mother-tongue]] as a second language taught in schools, in order to preserve each individual's ethnic identity and values. According to the 2020 census, English was the language most spoken at home, used by 48.3% of the population; Mandarin was next, spoken at home by 29.9%.<ref name="singstat1">{{cite web |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/publications/publications_and_papers/GHS/ghs2015/findings.pdf |title=General Household Survey 2015 |year=2015|access-date=15 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215063843/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/publications/publications_and_papers/GHS/ghs2015/findings.pdf|archive-date=15 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite news |last=Oi |first=Mariko |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11468401 |title=Singapore's booming appetite to study Mandarin |publisher=BBC News |date=5 October 2010|access-date=27 February 2011}}</ref> Nearly half a million speak other ancestral Southern [[varieties of Chinese]], mainly [[Hokkien]], [[Teochew dialect|Teochew]], and [[Cantonese]], as their home language, although the use of these is declining in favour of Mandarin or just English.<ref name="singstat.gov.sg">{{cite web |year=2005 |title=General Household Survey 2005, Statistical Release 1: Socio-Demographic and Economic Characteristics |url=https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/education-language-spoken-and-literacy/visualising-data|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326052305/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/ghsr1/chap2.pdf|archive-date=26 March 2012|access-date=11 November 2010 |website= |publisher=Singapore Statistics}}</ref> [[Singapore Chinese characters]] are written using [[simplified Chinese characters]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fagao Zhou |title=Papers in Chinese Linguistics and Epigraphy |date=1986 |publisher=Chinese University Press |isbn=978-962-201-317-9 |page=56 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NEzEo5Y8B3oC|access-date=31 January 2017}}</ref>

[[Singapore English|Singaporean English]] is largely based on [[British English]], owing to the country's status as a former [[Colony of Singapore|crown colony]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/children/481 |title=What are some commonly misspelled English words?<nowiki>|</nowiki>ASK!ASK!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303222846/https://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/children/481|archive-date=3 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/children/481 |title=What are some commonly misspelled English words? |publisher=National Library Board |location=Singapore |date=18 April 2008|access-date=18 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303222846/https://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/children/481|archive-date=3 March 2012}}</ref> However, forms of English spoken in Singapore range from [[Singapore Standard English|Standard Singapore English]] to a colloquial form known as [[Singlish]], which is discouraged by the government as it claims it to be a substandard [[English-based creole language|English creole]] that handicaps Singaporeans, presenting an obstacle to learning standard English and rendering the speaker incomprehensible to everyone except to another Singlish speaker.<ref>{{cite news |author=Tan Hwee Hwee |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020729-322685,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429011917/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020729-322685,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 April 2007 |title=A war of words is brewing over Singlish |newspaper=Time |location=New York |date=22 July 2002|access-date=18 February 2011}}</ref> Standard Singapore English is fully understandable to all [[Standard English]] speakers, while most English-speaking people do not understand Singlish. Nevertheless, Singaporeans have a strong sense of identity and connection to Singlish, whereby the existence of Singlish is recognised as a distinctive cultural marker for many Singaporeans.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |last=Harbeck |first=James |date=19 September 2016 |title=The language the government tried to suppress |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160919-the-language-the-government-tried-to-suppress |access-date=1 May 2022 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> As such, in recent times, the government has tolerated the [[diglossia]] of both Singlish and Standard English (only for those who are fluent in both), whilst continuously reinforcing the importance of Standard English amongst those who speak only Singlish (which is not [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] with the Standard English of other [[English-speaking country|English-speaking countries]]).<ref name=":3" />