SINGAPORE: As of June 2024, Singapore’s total population reached 6.04 million, reflecting a 2% increase from June 2023, according to the Government’s latest Population in Brief report released by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) on Tuesday (24 Sept).

This notable rise in population is primarily attributed to a 5% growth in the non-resident (NR) population, which increased from 1.77 million in June 2023 to 1.86 million in June 2024.

The increase was observed across various pass types, including foreign workers across all categories, semi-skilled non-professional work permit holders, manager and executive roles, technician (non-PMET) workers, dependants, and international students.

Work Permit Holders contributed the most to this growth, followed closely by Migrant Domestic Workers, NDTD report added.

“Today, the foreign workforce constitutes about two-thirds of the NR population, while the remaining one-third comprises mainly migrant domestic workers, dependants, and students,” the report noted.

The report further highlighted that the increase in the NR population was primarily driven by growth in foreign employment from June 2023 to June 2024.

It emphasized that, given Singapore’s fundamental labour constraints, the foreign workforce complements the local workforce and enables companies to access a broader range of skills from the global labour pool.

Additionally, the annualized population growth rate over the last five years (2019-2024) was slightly higher than in the preceding five-year period (2014-2019), mainly due to post-COVID growth in the number of Work Permit Holders in the Construction, Marine Shipyard, and Process (CMP) sectors as companies resumed projects delayed by the pandemic.

citizen population: 3.64 million

The report also highlighted concerning trends among citizens, including a decrease in births and marriages.

The citizen population increased by 0.7% from 3.61 million in June 2023 to 3.64 million in June 2024, while the Permanent Resident (PR) population grew by 1.2%, rising from 538,600 to 544,900 during the same period.

In 2023, there were 28,877 citizen births, marking a 5.1% decline from the 30,429 births recorded in 2022.

This decline continues a downward trend, with the resident total fertility rate (TFR) dropping to a historic low of 0.97 in 2023.

The average number of births per year over the last five years was 31,100, lower than the 33,000 average recorded in the preceding five years.

Additionally, the median age of citizen mothers at first birth increased to 31.4 years in 2023, compared to 30.2 years in 2013.

The report noted that this decline may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in economic uncertainty and disrupted marriage and parenthood plans for some Singaporean couples.

“The decline in TFR is also happening in other advanced societies, where more people are postponing family formation and having fewer children due to reasons such as the prioritisation of careers, shifting attitudes towards marriage and parenthood, and concerns about child-raising costs,” the NDTD report added.

Fewer citizen marriage in 2023

According to the report, the number of citizen marriages fell to 24,355 in 2023, a decrease of 1.7% from the previous year’s record high, although it remains higher than figures from 2019.

The median age at first marriage for citizen grooms and brides was 30.7 and 29.0 years, respectively, in 2023, up from 30.1 and 27.8 years in 2013.

The NPTD report noted that among the citizen population aged 25-49 years, there was a higher proportion of singles across almost all age groups in 2023 compared to 2013, a trend observed among both males and females.

Aging trend

A significant demographic shift is underway as the proportion of seniors in the citizen population continues to rise.

As of June 2024, 19.9% of citizens were aged 65 and above, compared to 12.4% in June 2014.

Meanwhile, 60.4% of citizens were aged 20-64 years, a decrease from 64.8% in 2014.

The number of citizens aged 80 and older has surged by approximately 65%, increasing from 85,000 in 2014 to 142,000 in 2024.

The report estimates that by 2030, around 1 in 4 citizens (24.1%) will be aged 65 and above.

Transnational marriages accounted for 36% of all citizen marriages in 2023

The report noted a noteworthy trend in marriages, with transnational marriages accounting for 36% of all citizen marriages in 2023, up from 33% in 2022. Despite fluctuations caused by COVID-19 travel restrictions, the proportion of transnational marriages has consistently remained above one-third over the past decade.

As of June 2023, there were 176,900 citizens married to non-citizen spouses.

Among the 28,877 citizen births in 2023, more than 1 in 4 were born to couples comprising both citizens and non-citizens.

The report remarked, “Many foreign spouses have lived in Singapore for years, often even before meeting their Singaporean spouses. They are now a part of our families and community. These transnational families add to the diversity and vibrancy of our population.”

Interestingly, the report highlighted that around 3 in 4 transnational marriages today involve citizen grooms and non-citizen brides, a trend that has remained stable over the last decade.

However, the profile of transnational families has evolved in recent years. Non-citizen brides are now older and have higher educational qualifications at the time of marriage.

The proportion of non-citizen brides aged below 25 decreased from 18.0% in 2013 to 6.5% in 2023, while the proportion with a university degree increased from 36.6% in 2013 to 47.4% in 2023.

23,472 individuals granted citizenship in 2023

The latest NPTD report further noted that in 2023, 23,472 individuals were granted citizenship, while 34,491 individuals were granted permanent residency.

The average number of new citizenships and permanent residencies granted per year over the last five years was 22,400 citizenships and 32,600 permanent residencies, slightly higher than the preceding five-year period, which recorded averages of 21,600 citizenships and 31,100 permanent residencies.

SINGAPORE: Sentencing for former Transport Minister S Iswaran has been adjourned to 3 October, following his guilty plea to five charges.

During the hearing today (24 September), Justice Vincent Hoong extended Iswaran’s bail and scheduled the sentencing for 10:00 AM on 3 October, seeking more time to deliberate on the arguments presented by both sides.

The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Tai Wei Shyong, called for a jail term of six to seven months.

Iswaran has pleaded guilty to four charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which prohibits public servants from accepting valuable items from individuals involved in transactions they oversee, and one charge of obstruction of justice.

Thirty other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

During the hearing, the prosecution outlined the serious nature of the offences, emphasising that Iswaran had accepted gifts while serving as Transport Minister.

These gifts included 10 green room tickets to the 2017 Singapore F1 Grand Prix, valued at S$42,265, and a flight on businessman Ong Beng Seng’s private jet, along with related luxury accommodation and travel benefits amounting to S$20,908.03.

The prosecution asked for four months’ imprisonment for the F1 tickets charge and three months for the private jet and luxury accommodations. Additional charges involved valuable items from David Lum, director of Lum Chang Holdings, including whisky, wine, and a Brompton bicycle.

The prosecution acknowledged no contracts between Lum’s firm and the government had been affected but sought one month’s imprisonment for each of these charges.

The most severe charge was obstruction of justice, for which the prosecution sought two months’ imprisonment.

This charge stemmed from Iswaran’s efforts to obstruct an investigation by repaying S$5,700 for a business class flight to Doha, linked to his dealings with Singapore GP.

The prosecution recommended that the sentences for three charges—relating to the F1 tickets, whisky, and obstruction of justice—run consecutively, totaling seven months of imprisonment.

Mitigation Plea by Defence

Iswaran’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, argued for a more lenient sentence, suggesting eight weeks of imprisonment in total. He contended that Iswaran, previously accused of corruption, chose to plead guilty after the charges were amended, removing corruption allegations.

Singh emphasized that the former minister accepted responsibility for his actions, acknowledging that receiving gifts from Ong and Lum was wrong under the law, even though Iswaran had not been aware of Section 165 at the time.

Singh rejected the prosecution’s claims that Iswaran had abused his office, stating there was no evidence of any harm caused to government contracts or operations due to the gifts.

He highlighted that Iswaran’s actions did not compromise his loyalty to the government, and his friendship with the gift-givers did not justify harsher sentencing.

Instead, Singh argued that Iswaran should face a sentence of no more than one to five weeks per charge, and proposed that only three of the charges—relating to the F1 tickets, whisky, and obstruction—be served consecutively, resulting in a maximum of eight weeks’ imprisonment.

Deliberation on Sentencing

Justice Hoong noted that there have been no prior decisions under Section 165 in Singapore, complicating the sentencing process.

He instructed both the prosecution and defence to refer to a similar case decided in Malaysian federal court, and submit arguments by Thursday (26 Sept) on how the sentencing in that case might influence Iswaran’s case.

The prosecution argued that Iswaran’s actions, as a senior public servant, could undermine public confidence in government impartiality if left unchecked.

Tai emphasised that Iswaran had repeatedly accepted gifts over a prolonged period, warning that failure to adequately punish such conduct would signal tolerance for misconduct.

The defence countered, stating that no harm was done to government contracts and that charging Iswaran under Section 165 alone was a strong enough deterrent.

Singh highlighted that the gifts were exchanged within the context of personal friendships and lacked premeditation, suggesting that Iswaran did not exploit his position for personal gain.