SINGAPORE — 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 5.64 million a year earlier.

The National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) said in response to queries to TODAY that this is the highest recorded figure in Singapore’s history.

“However, taking into account the decline in total population in 2020 and 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the average total population growth rate over the past five years was comparable to the preceding five-year period (of 2013 to 2018).”

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.

The latest 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 lunar Year of the Tiger, the country welcomed 23,082 new citizens. 

NPTD said that the citizen population figure excludes citizens who have been living abroad continuously for 12 months or more.

“With the easing of travel restrictions related to Covid-19, more citizens living overseas returned to Singapore, and this was the largest contributing factor to the increase in the citizen population.”

The latest report stated as well that the return of citizens and PRs living overseas was the largest contributing factor to the increases in citizen and PR populations.

PR populations 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-holder types, their dependants and international students increased by 13.1 per cent in the same period, standing at 1.77 million as of 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. 

The following is a breakdown of the data. 

OVERALL POPULATION 

Singapore’s total population stood at 5.92 million as of June 2023There 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 2022The 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