Singapore Population Rises 1.6% to 6.21 Million, Driven by Construction Workers for T5 and Housing

The total population grew by 97,300, with non-residents adding 70,300, citizens 24,200 and permanent residents 2,800. The increase of 1.6 per cent was driven by more construction workers for key infrastructure projects such as Changi Airport Terminal 5 and the ramp-up of housing supply, said the National Population and Talent Division on 25 September. These workers, considered part of the non-resident population, are also involved in the Marina Bay Sands expansion and in building transport infrastructure.

The citizen population increased by 0.7 per cent to 3.68 million in June 2026, from 3.66 million a year earlier. The permanent resident population remained relatively stable at 0.55 million.

Non-residents increased by 3.7 per cent to 1.98 million from 1.91 million, driven primarily by more work permit holders and migrant domestic workers. Today, the foreign workforce, not including migrant domestic workers, makes up about two-thirds of the non-resident population. The remaining third comprises mainly migrant domestic workers, dependants and students.

Non-resident composition: construction, marine shipyard and process work permit holders 24 per cent, non-CMP work permit holders 21 per cent, migrant domestic workers 16 per cent, Dependant’s Pass and Long-Term Visit Pass holders 15 per cent, Employment Pass holders 10 per cent, S Pass holders 9 per cent, Student’s Pass holders 5 per cent.

Five-year trend, in millions: 2022, 3.55 citizens, 0.52 PRs, 1.56 non-residents, 5.64 total. 2023, 3.61, 0.54, 1.77, 5.92. 2024, 3.64, 0.54, 1.86, 6.04. 2025, 3.66, 0.54, 1.91, 6.11. 2026, 3.68, 0.55, 1.98, 6.21. Figures as at June each year and may not sum due to rounding.

In 2025, 25,094 people were granted citizenship and another 35,352 were granted permanent residency. The average number granted per year from 2021 to 2025 rose compared with the five years before: an average of 22,400 citizenships and 34,600 permanent residencies, against 20,600 and 31,200 between 2016 and 2020.

Most new citizens and PRs came from South-east Asia, with 62.1 per cent of new citizens and 61.6 per cent of new PRs from the region. Another 35.4 per cent of new citizens and 31.6 per cent of new PRs came from other Asian countries. Among those aged 20 and above, more than four in 10 had post-secondary qualifications.

Mathews Mathew, principal research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, said immigration in 2020 would have been unusually low because of the pandemic. Aside from that, the Government did increase the intake of residents in line with concerns over Singapore’s ageing population and low fertility rate. Immigration is increasingly important in preventing the citizen population from shrinking too quickly, he said.

At the 2026 Budget debate, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said the Government expects to grant 25,000 to 30,000 new citizenships annually over the next five years, which is 17 to 41 per cent more than the average of 21,300 granted annually between 2020 and 2024. New PRs granted will also rise from an average of 33,000 a year between 2020 and 2024 to about 40,000 a year. Individuals must be PRs for at least two years before they can apply for citizenship.

“Polls show that Singaporeans generally understand why immigration is necessary, but while there is an understanding of the economic imperative, there remain concerns about jobs, fairness, whether we have sufficient infrastructure to absorb more of a population and whether newcomers actually integrate,” Mathew said.

There were 21,671 citizen marriages in 2025, 5.6 per cent lower than the 22,955 in 2024. The average number of citizen marriages per year from 2023 to 2025 was 23,000, lower than the 23,500 a year averaged between 2016 and 2019.

Singaporeans are also marrying later. The median age at first marriage was 30.8 for grooms and 29.1 for brides in 2025, up from 30.1 and 27.9 in 2015.

Transnational marriages made up 37 per cent of citizen marriages in 2025, largely stable since 2015 barring dips during the pandemic. Inter-ethnic marriages made up 19 per cent, also largely stable.

The proportion of single Singaporeans has been rising. Between 2015 and 2025, the proportion of singles rose across most male and female age groups, a trend particularly pronounced for those aged 25 to 29 and 30 to 34.

Labour economist Walter Theseira said demand is concentrated in areas where locals are unwilling to take up jobs, such as construction or domestic work. The ageing population also means increased demand every year for domestic and care work, much of which is also not desirable for local residents, said Theseira, an associate professor of economics at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

He noted that Singapore has a long list of upcoming infrastructure projects including new MRT lines, plans for land reclamation along the East Coast and the merging of several offshore islands announced at the National Day Rally in August.