Hui Yang (Nanyang Technological University (Singapore))
Peidong Yang (National Institute of Education (Singapore))
Shaohua Zhan (Nanyang Technological University (Singapore))

Keywords
Social Studies
Identity
Diversity
Singapore

By June 2016, the total population of Singapore was 5.61 million, with approximately 61% citizens, 9%  permanent residents, and 30%  non-residents (See Figure 1). Among the non-residents, 58% are Work Permit holders including foreign domestic workers (FDWs). According to the United Nations’ dataset on international migrant stock (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015), in 2015, the total number of foreign-born population in Singapore was 2,543,638, or 46 % of the total population. Of the foreign-born population, 44% originated from Malaysia, and Chinese immigrants and Indian immigrants[i] took up 18% and 6% respectively (See Figure 2).

Between 1990 and 2015, Singapore’s total population increased by 82%, among which citizens expanded by 29%, permanent residents, by 371% and non-residents, by 424% (See Figure 3). The share of citizens declined from 86% in 1990 to 61% in 2015.