The Singapore Government’s annual Population in Brief report released on Tuesday (27 Sep) showed a 3.4 per cent increase in its total population over the past year from June 2021 to June 2022, reaching a total population of 5.637 million.
While there had been an increase in population, the total population still remains below the Pre-COVID figure in 2019 of 5.704 million. Most of the “losses” can be attributed to the non-resident population, where there had been 1.677 million back in June 2019 versus 1.563 million in June 2022.
In comparison with pre-COVID figures in 2019, the citizen population has also grown to 3.55 million from 3.5 million. 
According to the report, the increase in citizen and PR populations was mainly due to the easing of travel restrictions related to COVID-19, as more citizens and PRs who previously remained overseas continuously for 12 months or more returned to Singapore.
The citizen population increased by 1.6% from 3.50 million in June 2021 to 3.55 million in June 2022. The citizen population continued to age, with 18.4% aged 65 and above in June 2022, compared to 17.6% in June 2021. The Permanent Resident (PR) population increased by 6.3% from 0.49 million in June 2021 to 0.52 million in June 2022, slightly below the pre-COVID level of 0.53 million in June 2019. The increases in the citizen and PR populations were mainly due to the easing of travel restrictions related to COVID-19, as more citizens and PRs living overseas returned to Singapore.
As at June 2022, the non-resident population stood at 1.56 million, an increase of 6.6% from June 2021. The increase in the non-resident population was mainly due to a recovery in foreign employment levels in Singapore from June 2021 to June 2022, mostly a result of the easing of travel restrictions related to COVID-19.
The largest increase of foreign employment was seen for Work Permit Holders in the Construction, Marine Shipyard, and Process (CMP) sectors. The total number of non-residents, however remains lower than the pre-COVID level of 1.68 million in June 2019
In 2021, there were 23,433 citizen marriages, which was 20.6% more than the 19,430 citizen marriages in 2020. This was due in part to the progressive easing of COVID-19 safe management measures, which enabled couples to proceed with their marriage plans.
The number of citizen marriages in 2021 was also higher than the 22,165 citizen marriages in 2019 (pre-COVID). There were 31,713 citizen births in 2021, similar to the 31,816 citizen births in 2020. The resident total fertility rate recovered slightly from 1.10 in 2020 to 1.12 in 2021. However, this was still lower than the pre-COVID level of 1.14 in 2019.
There were 31,713 citizen births in 2021, a slight decrease from 31,816 in 2020. The resident total fertility rate recovered slightly to 1.12 births per woman in 2021 from the historic low of 1.1 in 2020. The figure for 2019 was 1.14. From 2017 to 2021, citizen births averaged 32,200 per year, marking a drop from the 2012-2016 average of 32,900.
The median age of the citizen population also rose from 42.5 years to 42.8 years between June 2021 and June 2022 and the number of citizens aged 80 and above has also increased by more than 70% from 2012. The proportion of citizens aged 65 and above has increased from 11.1% in 2012 to 18.4% in 2022. By 2030, around 1 in 4 citizens (23.8%) will be aged 65 & above. At the same time, the proportion of citizens aged 20-64 years has decreased.
According to the report, the pace of immigration continues to be measured and stable.
In 2021, 21,537 individuals were granted citizenship and 33,435 individuals were granted PR. About 6% of the new SCs, or 1,240 of them, were children born overseas to Singaporean parents (“citizens by descent”).
These figures were higher compared to that in 2020, due to the easing of travel restrictions and safe management measures, which previously slowed down the processes for the grant of citizenship or permanent residence (which had to be completed in person) in 2020.
